Unforgettable (BEING REWRITTEN)
by TooManyIdeas14
Summary: She was forgotten. But some things, you can't forget. Xion is slowly going mad in Sora's heart, and he's going to get her out of there, no matter what it takes. Includes RokuShi and SoKai. Spoilers for 358/2 Days and other games. Rated T for safety. IN PROGRESS.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello there, KH fans! So, as you probably know if you paid attention to the spoiler warning, the ending of 358/2 Days is really freaking depressing. However, I always took comfort in the fact that Xion is safe in Sora's heart, with three people to hang out with and a whole island all to herself. Heck, if Namine is to be believed, she'll be released right on time to kick butt in KH3. Yes, it will be all right…**

**This is what I believed until I made the mistake of reading really dark poetry about her by RequiemOfKingdomHearts (which is actually pretty good, if you're into that sort of thing, but keep some fluffiness open in another tab to rinse afterwards). I mean, **_**holy pancake, that's more heartbreaking than the freaking game!**_** Granted, I should have been tipped off by titles like **_**Torment, **_**but there you go. This was made even **_**worse **_**by the fact that (confession alert) I may be alone in having a legit **_**crush **_**on Xion.**

**So, yeah, I was moping about how Xion thinks she's in Hell and is slowly falling into madness and just wants someone, **_**anyone **_**to remember her. I was all like, "Why can't Sora save her already? It can't end this way!" And then I looked my writing computer and thought, **_**IT. WON'T. **_**This is the result.**

**This is already starting to drag on, so I'll leave the infodump for the closing AN. This is dedicated to RequiemOfKingdomHearts, who inspired this whole thing with her brilliant-yet-horrifying poetry, v.t.7, who has given me encouragement every step of the way in my crazy foray into fanfiction, to Raberba Girl, who sparked my interest in writing fanfic again in the first place, and to anyone who cried on Day 357. You are not alone. I hope you enjoy.**

**DISCLAIMER: Kingdom Hearts belongs to Disney and Square Enix. I do not stand to profit from this work in any way. Sqaure, please ignore the haters and let Sora save Xion. Pretty please with a cherry on top?**

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**Unforgettable**

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_She was forgotten. But some things, you can't forget._

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"_Make him remember me."_

"_I can't just give it to him all at once. He'd be overwhelmed. He'd go insane."_

"_I don't care. Give it to him in bite-size chunks or something, just make him remember me. I want him to say my name again. I want to hear my name on the lips of someone outside this prison they call a heart. That's all I want. I want to hear that name again."_

"_I can't do everything with my power. Mess with memories too much, and madness is the only result."_

"_Madness? I've been writing. I've been seeing myself in the mirror. I am so scared, for you, for Roxas, for everyone, because I'm the one going mad. I just need to hear my name again. Please, help me. Help me. Help me, help me, help—"_

"_Okay, okay. I'll see what I can do."_

"…_.I'm sorry if I scared you. But do you see what I mean?"_

"_Yeah. I do."_

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Lea was pretty sure he knew everything about his own life, as a Somebody, a Nobody and then a Somebody again. And he figured, even if he didn't remember absolutely everything about his former life, it would be hard to forget the important things.

But he always had the feeling there was something missing about his time in Organization XIII. Why did he kill Vexen when he could have just let Sora deal with him? Why did Roxas always seem like he was talking to someone else at the clocktower? What was the catalyst that made him hate his former friend even before he went all 'bow before me' on Sora? So many questions without any answers. He tried not to think about it. He had duties now, and those duties couldn't be completed by a man rambling to himself about 'someone else'.

But every time he saw Kairi (which was several times a day), it felt like his brain was trying to make a connection. He'd almost remember something, something about a girl who looked like Kairi, but then it'd be lost. It frustrated him, but again, he tried not to think about it.

He wanted something to turn on the light in his brain that knew who this girl was. He got what he wished for.

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The gardens of Disney Castle were, unsurprisingly, flower based. Small flowers, too. Really, besides one fountain and the occasional hedge in the shape of some leader or hero, the gardens were quite boring. The good news was that they were flat and open, making them the perfect place for a training session and sparring match.

Lea ducked under a swift kick from Kairi, listening to the sound of her leg whipping through the air. Anyone else would have found this foot flying just over their head to be at least a tad terrifying. Lea was used to it—it wasn't much worse than the sounds of the Keyblades he had fought several times. "At this rate, you might finally mess up my hairdo," he teased.

Kairi snorted. "I'll definitely enjoy seeing that."

Lea blocked a few punches with his sparring gloves before Kairi managed to take him by surprise and hit him in the gut. He fell backward onto the grass, making a small grunt of pain as he fell on his bum. Kairi looked rather unsympathetic—they had sparred many times before, and she knew full well that he could take it. Indeed, he could, but it didn't make it hurt any less. That girl was getting good.

Lea laughed as he pulled himself up. "Well, don't go easy on me, now…" He dusted himself off and looked at a watch he had picked up from some Moogle. "I think it's time for Keyblade practice."

Kairi checked the watch herself and nodded. "Looks like it." She pulled back and summoned her Keyblade. "Come on! No holding back!"

Lea blinked. "Wha…"

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_*BZZT*_

"_Don't hold back, Axel. Promise?"_

"_What's your problem?! You both... think you can do whatever you want... well, I'm sick of it. Go on, you just keep running! But I'll always be there to bring you back!"_

_*BZZT*_

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Lea closed his eyes and held his temple. What was that? That girl looked just like Kairi, except with black hair, and she seemed familiar beyond that. What was her name? Why was she running from him? And why did he feel so sad all of a sudden?

A jolt of pain hit him, and he gritted his teeth. "I'm really sorry, Kairi, but I just got a splitting headache, and I need a little downtime."

Kairi looked worried. "Well, okay, it happens. I hope you get better soon."

"Don't worry about me, I'll probably be fine… hurts like heck, though…"

Lea went into the castle to his room and shut the door. Something was coming back to him, a word, no, a name. His brain was attaching a name to the girl he had seen. What was it…

He gripped the windowsill. "Xion," he whispered. "Is that it? Xion. Pretty name. Xion…"

More fractured images hit him. This Xion girl was coming into his memories of the clocktower now. He vaguely remembered that Saix had always been a jerk to her. He couldn't remember everything, but what he did remember was enough to make him want her back. Where was she now, anyway? Had she gone to Twilight Town with Roxas? In fact, if she was so important, why did he forget her in the first place?

He grabbed the keys to the Gummi ship and ran off. One thing was for sure. Whatever was going on, Sora needed to know about it right now.

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Why Lea had insisted they meet in the Gummi ship rather on the ground, Sora didn't know. The red-haired man claimed he preferred the privacy, but Sora also didn't know yet what the privacy was needed for. He guessed he would find out soon, though.

He walked the grey, metallic halls of the ship, staring up at the tall Lea. "Did you just come to show off your snazzy new ship?"

"Actually, no." Lea stopped and put his hands in his pockets. "I have… something to tell you."

Sora nodded. "Go on."

"You mentioned seeing a black-haired girl in an Organization coat during your test. Do you remember her?"

Sora closed his eyes and thought. "Vaguely. It was crystal-clear when I saw her, but now it's all a blur. I felt connected to her somehow, but I couldn't tell you her eye color or anything else about her face. It's like my mind doesn't _want _to remember her."

Lea sighed. "That's because she wasn't supposed to be remembered."

Sora blinked. "Wait, what?"

"I knew her when I was in Organization XIII. I think. Her name… what was it again, dang it… Xion. Her name was Xion."

_He remembers me! Oh, thank goodness, he remembers me!_

Sora gasped. That girl's voice had come out of nowhere. He looked around, but saw no one. It sounded so relived, like she had been waiting a long time just for someone to say her name. Was that the voice of this Xion person?

He shook his head. "Sorry. Keep going."

Lea nodded. "Anyway, Xion was a close friend of mine, as close as Roxas. I got her out of a few jams. But then some really bad stuff happened, and she made a break for it. So did Roxas, just for her. I wasn't there to see the rest of it, but I know something happened that made me forget her completely. I still can't remember everything, but it's coming back to me."

_Thank you, Axel. Thank you for remembering me. Thank you so much…_

Sora looked around again. The voice sounded like it was crying tears of joy. It was definitely the Xion Lea was talking about—no one referred to him as Axel anymore. But how could he hear the voice of a person he had never meet beyond one meeting he barely remembered?

Without warning, pain struck him. He grabbed his head and grunted. Things were coming to him, images and words. They felt like memories, but he knew he had never done anything in them. What was going on?

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_*BZZT*_

_"Roxas, would you... give me your hand?"_

_"... Like this?"_

_"Yeah." _

_*BZZT*_

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"What the…"

Sora collapsed, and everything went dark.

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_Xion… Xion… where am I? Looks like Destiny Islands…_

"Sora!"

Who was that? Sora pulled himself up and dusted off. A girl ran towards him. She had short, black, almost boyish hair. She was wearing Kairi's outfit, except it was white with black boxes along the bottom. In fact, she looked a lot like Kairi. As she got closer, Sora could make out her blue eyes and other aspects of her face. She looked overjoyed.

The girl ran into him, hugging him tight. But why? He'd never… wait a minute… it was the girl he seen before during the test. But that still didn't explain why she was hugging him. They barely knew each other. _What was her name again…_

She was crying with happiness. "Say my name. Please, say my name."

Sora was taken aback. He thought hard. "…Xion. Is that right?"

"Yes!" Xion hugged him even tighter. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for someone to remember me, to say my name again. Roxas, he doesn't remember me even in this place, and we never see each other long enough for me to tell him. It's so hard…"

Sora had no clue what was going on, but he got the sense that Xion had been here a long time. He hugged her back—that was probably a good place to start. "Where are we?"

She blinked, but didn't stop hugging him. "Your heart. I thought it would be better, especially with the island, but I learned quick that it's a prison. It's the same thing every day, over and over. Get up, walk on the beach, look at the same old seashells, the same old trees. Maybe if I'm feeling adventurous, I'll talk to Namine or Ventus. Not Roxas, he won't even notice me anymore… it's so horrible."

Sora tried to be comforting by stroking her hair. "How can I help?"

Xion was in a new round of crying, but it was sad crying now. "Help me. Get me out of here. Take me with you. I want to see the real world again. I want to feel a real sun on my face. I want to eat ice cream at the clocktower. I want to see something other than an island. I want out. Get me out." She became almost suffocating with her grip now. "Please! Get me out of here! Help me! Help me! Help me!"

Sora heard another girl's voice. "Xion."

Xion whipped around, and tears flew off her wet face. She had gone the whole way with the crying—she was red in the face and sniffling and her voice was some unnatural mix of her normal voice and a panicked scream. "What?"

Sora looked in the direction of the voice. It was Namine. "Let go of him."

Xion only hugged Sora even harder, or at least tried to—she had hit the absolute limit. "No! I need to get out of here. He's my ticket out of this living hell."

"Xion, you aren't in Hell. This place is lovely."

Her jaw dropped. "How could you even say that to me? We are dead, do you understand me? We are all dead! I want to be alive again!"

Namine stepped closer. "You aren't dead. Not even close. You were always going to come out, Xion. It just takes a little—"

Xion summoned a Keyblade that looked just like Sora's. "Get away from me. I want out now. Right now." She turned back to him. "Please, get me out now. Please, please, please…"

Sora watched Namine back away slowly. _Gee, thanks for leaving me to deal with a crying girl with a weapon. _He sighed and held her shoulders. "Xion. You aren't going to like hearing this. But I don't know how to get you out. Not yet."

If she didn't look shocked before, she did now. "Wha… but you're Sora. This is your heart. Can't you just pull us out of it?"

Sora closed his eyes. "I wish it were that simple. I promise, if it was, I would let you out right now. I barely know you, but you're still breaking my heart." It took him a moment to think about that. "Sorry. Anyway, if I could just—"

Xion interrupted. "Wait. Back up. What do you mean, you barely know me? I'm your Replica. This is your heart. Don't you know everything about everyone here?"

_Replica?_ He cringed, not sure what to say. "Um… no. I don't. I'm sorry."

A look of horror fell over her face. "But… but…"

"Xion, please listen to—"

She pushed him away and ran up the ladders, weeping. "No," she wailed. "No! Even he… how… but… no, no, no!

Sora started to run after her, but Namine gripped his arm. She was strong for such a small girl. He was filled with so many questions. _Why is life in my heart making her so sad? Why won't Roxas notice her? Why did she threaten Namine? What did she mean, she's my Replica? What did she mean, they're all dead? And why is she suddenly so crazy?_

Namine sighed. "I'm sorry you had to see that. She's been getting depressed since you saw her during your test. It's only getting worse. I didn't know nightmares were possible here, but she's been having those, too, reliving the worst moments of her life. It's been really upsetting to watch." She looked him in the eyes. "She's sick, Sora."

Sora gritted his teeth in determination. "Then tell me how to cure her. Or better yet, how to get her out of here."

"It doesn't work that way. I can't just tell you. But I can help you."She started scribbling in her sketchbook. "When you wake up, you'll have all of Xion's memories. It's going to be really disorienting, because it will feel like you are her, but you'll know what happened to her. That should help you save her. She needs your help, Sora."

Sora nodded and pumped his fist. "I'll save her, no matter what!"

Namine held him by the arm again. "Why don't we tell Xion that? She needs to know."

Sora agreed, and they headed up the ladder. As it turned out, the Destiny Islands in his heart was very similar to the one in the real world, but there were differences. There were four doors that weren't supposed to be there. Each was marked with a letter—_V, X, R, N_—except for three doors that had had their letters scratched out. One door in particular was boarded up and had a note reading, _NO! DO NOT OPEN! _He wondered what terrible thing laid beyond that door, but shook his head and turned his attention back to the door marked X.

Sora waited a moment before knocking lightly. "Are you okay?"

A moan came from inside, presumably Xion's. "No, but come anyway. I'm sorry if I scared you or anything like that. I need to talk to you. Please…"

Sora opened the door slowly. He was now in a white bedroom, similar to ones he had caught glimpses of in The Castle That Never Was. Xion was sitting at a desk, rubbing her face with her hands. The floor around her chair was covered in crumbled papers, colored solid black by what appeared to be crayon. The papers that weren't crumpled or colored black had writing on them, all spelling out phrases along the lines of _HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE. _

Sora pulled out a convenient folding chair and sat down next to her. "You really don't like it here, huh?"

Xion leaned on his shoulder, which really surprised him. "I hate this place so much. All I want is to leave and hear people say my name again."

He sighed and tried stroking her hair again. "Xion, what if I told you I'm going to get you out of here?"

She gasped. "Really?"

Sora raised his hand to signal her to calm down. "Not right this very second. It'll take some time. But I'll get you out of here somehow, no matter what it takes. I promise."

Xion was crying again, but it was in joy. She hugged him again, almost falling out of her chair. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"Hey. It's what heroes do."

Namine held Xion on the shoulder. "Sora has to wake up now. His friends are worried. But he'll save you."

Xion nodded. "Okay." She gave Sora one more tight squeeze. "Remember me, okay? Say my name a lot. I feel better every time I hear my name. Please?"

Sora smiled. "Of course I will, Xion."

As he started to fade out of the dream, Xion held his cheek. "Thank you so much."

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Xion's memories hit him first. What happened? He (or was he a she?) was about to be absorbed into Roxas, and then everything went dark. He gasped when he realized that he was in a 'new' body. Did being a part of Sora mean _being Sora?_ Then his memories of just being Sora came back to him, and he groaned. Namine hadn't been kidding about having two sets of memories being disorienting. And when he delved into his new memories, he was horrified. Xion had lived a short, tragic life and was then forgotten by her own best friends. She deserved better than this.

After a moment of contemplation, Sora opened his eyes. He was in a rather generic bed in the Gummi ship. There was machinery strapped to his arm. Kairi ran over to him. "Lea, he's awake!"

Lea walked over and patted Sora on the shoulder. "You okay, kid?"

Sora closed his eyes, then opened them again. "Yeah, I'm fine. But Xion isn't. And I'm going to rescue her."

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**Yes! The first chapter is finally done! I'm coming, Xion! :D**

**Okay, begin infodump. First, this is built off of pure canon (more or less). Second, it ties directly into my upcoming Kingdom Hearts III fic, and it explains important things, so if you're reading this from **_**THE FUTURE**_** when that fic is actually a thing, do keep reading. Third, I'm going to try out a posting schedule for this story. I'll try to get a new chapter out every Saturday, like a TV show. Hopefully, that will keep this moving while preventing burnout. I might produce unexpected off-schedule chapters if I'm feeling productive, but I'll make sure not to slack off on the schedule and miss weeks. End infodump.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Here's a little contest for you (we all love contests, right?). I'm going to be making a TV Tropes page for this fic. Now, there are a **_**lot **_**of tropes out there, and I need help finding them all. That's where you come in. As you read, note as many tropes as you can in the reviews. I'll keep score myself, and the reader who ends up naming the most tropes will get something very special once the last chapter goes up. Okay, not **_**super **_**special, like a vacation to Japan or something, but you'll like it. :)**

**Thanks for reading, and tune in next time for Chapter Two of Unforgettable, the best Xion fanfic ever!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Another chapter so soon! You never expected it, but here it is! :) This wasn't planned in the original outline, but I thought of it and decided it could go somewhere interesting, so I decided to go for it. I would like to thank the amazing author Regiss for faving, following and reviewing. He's the guy who wrote Remember the Tides (which you should read right now if you haven't read it), and it was a **_**huge **_**fanboy moment for me. It's like getting praise and an autograph from J.K. Rowling, at least for me. Thank you! :)**

**Enough rambling. Time for chapter two!**

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**Unforgettable**

**Chapter II**

**Don't Cry**

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"…_And that's who she is. Everything that happened to her…"_

"_Sora, are you… crying?"_

"_No. Well, yes, actually. I am. I have her memories now. I know everything she felt in every moment, and why she felt it. It's like a part of my life now. She deserved so much more."_

"_Don't get all sappy now. The Sora I know is only sappy occasionally."_

"_Well, what do you expect when I saw her cry and scream in my arms, begging me to help her?"_

"…"

"_Yeah. It's hard on me."_

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Xion sat on the old tree, looking out at the sunset. If she closed her eyes, it was almost like she was at the clocktower again, with Roxas and Axel, eating ice cream like they always did. She let herself get absorbed in this, remembering one of their fonder conversations, just after she had gotten her Keyblade back. Back before she learned who she really was. Back before everything fell apart.

Back before she got sent here.

She became so absorbed in the memory that when she opened her eyes, she was actually surprised to be on the island. She sighed and jumped down, laying down on the soft sand. "Why doesn't it rain here?" she wondered. "It would fit my mood so much better."

She rolled on her side, staring at the sunset again. After a second, she caught sight of a blond boy wearing a black-and-white checkerboard jacket, similar in color scheme to her outfit. Roxas. He was staring out into the sunset, apparently in deep thought. He seemed to think a lot these days.

Xion considered her next move. Inevitably, any attempt at conversation with him would fail—Namine said he heard her voice as a faint whisper no matter how loud she screamed, due to the thoroughness of her erasure from his memory, and she had learned that the hard way time and again. But she kept trying anyway, because she knew she couldn't go forever without speaking to him again. She wouldn't be able to bear it.

Xion got up and wiped the sand off her clothes. She ran towards Roxas, hoping that closing the distance would help him hear her. She came to a stop next to him and took a deep breath. "Roxas."

Roxas didn't even blink. As usual. She spoke a little louder. "Roxas. It's me, Xion. Can you hear me?"

When she uttered her name, he seemed to stir, but ultimately didn't notice her. "Roxas," she said, making her voice yet louder. "I need to talk to you. I'm going to be leaving soon. I don't know if you can come yet. Please remember me so I can talk to you."

Roxas shook his head. "Who is that?" he muttered. "Why does she keep talking to me? Wish I knew…"

Well, that was a better response than usual. Xion was getting encouraged. "Roxas. Can you hear what I'm saying? Please respond to me. Please."

Roxas clicked his tounge. "Oh, why not? Yeah, I hear you, whoever you are. Where are you?"

This was the best response she had gotten out of him since he came here. Her hopes were rising. "Look to your left."

Roxas stared straight at her. "That's weird," he said. "It's like something's there, but it isn't at the same time. Like I'm looking at mist. Does that make sense?"

Xion sighed. "I guess. You used to know me, but you forgot about me. It's…" She closed her eyes, convincing herself of what she was about to say for the umpteenth time. "…it's not your fault. That's why you can't really see me, and I only sound like a whisper to you."

Roxas considered this. "I'm sorry, then. I wish I could remember you." He tried to reach out to her, but ended up grabbing at air. "What's your name? Maybe that will help."

She just barely managed not to yell. "I'm Xion."

For a moment, Roxas was quiet. "Did you say it? I didn't hear anything."

Xion's face fell and she looked down at the ground. "Yeah. I said it." Desperately trying to keep herself from crying, she balled her fists and thought fast. "Can you call me Ion?"

"Ion…" Roxas looked back at the sunset. "It sounds almost familiar, but I can't place it. Like it's missing something. But yeah, I can call you Ion." He reached around her. "Are you a ghost or something? I keep grabbing at the mist…"

Without thinking, Xion grabbed Roxas' arm and gripped it tight. She pulled him towards her as hard as she could. "I'm not a ghost!" she screamed. "I'm real! Please tell me I'm real!"

Roxas stumbled. He looked shocked. He felt her hand, running his fingers up and down hers. "Uh… you're real, Ion. You're real."

She finally let her tears loose, feeling them streak down her face. "I want to be called Xion… I want to hear my real name… please remember me…"

Roxas ran his hand up her arm and to her cheek. "Like I said, I wish I could." He apparently heard her sobbing, and tried to wipe her tears away, following the contours of her face. "Hey, don't cry. I can see you now, sort of. I can see your hair, your coat…"

She sighed again. "I'm not wearing a coat. It's… I don't want to explain it right now, I just want to hear you talking to me again." She fell into his chest, wailing. "I don't want to be forgotten anymore. I want someone to remember me. Remember me. Remember me. Please, please remember me…"

He hugged her, even though she knew he could only just see her. "Don't cry. I'll work every day to remember you. We can keep meeting here. You can tell me everything I forgot. I promise that if I can remember you, then I will. Don't cry. I'll remember you. Don't cry…"

She sniffled. "Thank you. I…" She almost said it, but stopped herself. She wanted to say it so bad, but she knew it couldn't be true.

After all, despite being a Replica of Sora, she was still a Nobody, and Nobodies couldn't love. Right?

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Sora didn't draw much. He had never had a reason to do so. You couldn't fight Heartless by drawing them. But now, he had a definite reason.

Kairi walked over to the couch. The recreation room of the Gummi ship was a bit like a living room. It had the aforementioned couch, a bookshelf filled to the brim, a coffee table, several board and card games, a coffee maker and a freezer box filled with food, including the sea-salt ice cream Lea loved so much. It was useful for longer trips and for sitting idly.

Kairi sat down next to Sora and looked at the paper he was scribbling on frantically. "What are you drawing?"

Sora didn't stop. "I'm drawing Xion."

"Oh." She kept watching as he finished the face. "She's pretty."

"Of course, she looks just like you."

Kairi snorted. "That might be a factor." She was curious now. "Why are you drawing her?"

Sora sighed. "Because I want to make sure I remember her. She was supposed to be forgotten. I'm sure whoever tried to get rid of her will be back for Round Two soon enough."

"Sora, you have her memories. You aren't going to forget her. Don't be paranoid."

He put his pencil down and looked Kairi in the eye. "Her best friends in all the worlds forgot her. Whatever did that to her is pretty powerful. I'm pretty sure it was Xemnas. And you want to call me paranoid for being safe?"

Kairi looked down. "Sorry. You're different, Sora. I kind of want you to go back to being the cheerful lazy bum you were before. I liked you better that way."

Sora patted her on the shoulder. "I liked myself better that way, too."

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Riku sat in the copilot seat, staring out towards the stars. "This Xion girl is real, then?"

Lea tapped his fingers against the dashboard. "Yup. She was a good girl, too."

Riku closed his eyes. "I think I remember a name like that, vaguely. Did I know her?"

Lea shrugged. "I dunno. If you did, I don't think she told either of us. If I remember her saying your name, I'll let you know."

"Good enough for me." Riku flipped a few switches. "The ship is ready to go. Where to?"

Lea typed in the coordinates. "Castle Oblivion. If I remember correctly, the solution to our problem lies there."

The Gummi ship powered up its engines and made a loud _boom _as it flew off on its latest adventure.

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**And that was chapter two. Insert something witty here. :)**

**Looks like my beautiful, beautiful RokuShi infiltrated this story, too. Those two have me under some kind of thrall. I love writing RokuShi whenever I get the chance. It is literally the cutest couple in KH, and it wasn't explored nearly enough in the game. Square, add more RokuShi in KH3. In fact, why don't you just read this and my KH3 fic and just try to follow it as closely as possible? You'll also want to read my wishlist. Thank you. :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. I still need tropes for the page, so if you like to browse TV Tropes, do tell me what I've hit so far. Please, I'm terrible at finding them myself… :)**

**Thanks for reading, and tune in next time for Chapter Three of Unforgettable!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Another early chapter! I'm on a roll here! Must be a side-effect of spring. :) Wow, this is only just starting and already I've got a few good fans. Many thanks to all reviewers. I keep rolling out more stories partially to see these wonderful reactions from you guys. You're the best!**

**So, when I was first outlining my Kingdom Hearts III story, I knew I had to address a certain scene in Days at some point in the story. This is the result, coupled with a second scene I'm rather proud of. Let's get going!**

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**Unforgettable**

**Chapter III**

**An Overdue Apology**

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"_That's all I remember of the first two weeks. I looked up, saw you and smiled."_

"_Why did you pick me out among thirteen people in identical black coats?"_

"_Because you looked better than them. Nicer."_

"_Nice… I'm not sure I'd say I'm nice. I'm mostly angry."_

"_Only when you have to be. And besides, you were nicer to me than most of them ever were."_

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_*BZZT*_

"_This Keyblade is a sham… worthless."_

_I slam my fist down on the ground. "What give you the right to say that?!"_

_I attack the silver-haired man again, but he knocks the Keyblade out of my hands. It skids across the ground, and I feel a horrible sinking feeling. As he walks off, I see strange images of floating islands and a castle. "This is for your own good," he says. "Find a new crowd."_

_I fall to my knees, pound my fist on the ground again and scream._

_*BZZT*_

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Sora opened his eyes and sat up in bed. He had just discovered that little memory in his sleep. Not everything in Xion's life was coming to him easily. This probably had to do with the fact that he now had three sets of memories, and two of them contradicted each other while covering the same time span. He also couldn't search the memories intentionally—he just had no idea what to look for. It could be very confusing, that was certain. But when the memories did come, they were always major breakthroughs like this.

Sora wasn't sure how to react to this new development. He decided that a good place to start would be talking about it.

He went to the recreation room. Riku was making a coffee. He had sworn by the beverage since the test, claiming that saving the worlds was tiring work. Sora had to agree with him on that one, and the thing with Xion made it doubly so. His nap had not been restful at all, and he fixed on making himself a coffee as well.

Riku sat on the couch with his coffee and smiled. "You were never one for coffee."

"Well, there's a first time for everything, right?" Sora poured the coffee into a mug and sat down next to Riku. He took a long sip, rubbed his eyes and sighed. "I've got to talk to you."

Riku took a sip of his own coffee. "Does it have to do with this Xion girl?"

"Yeah, it does."

Riku sighed, set his coffee down and put his hands behind his head. "Okay, go for it."

"Why did you call her Keyblade a sham?"

"Huh…" Riku closed his eyes and held his temple. After a long moment, during which Sora actually worried about him, he sighed and rubbed his face. "Okay, so I did know her, then… yeah, that was a bad start. But it got better later on. I think… that's the feeling I'm getting. I don't remember the exact details, but I think she ended up forgiving me."

Sora looked him in the eyes. "She did. I'm still working through the memory backlog, but I can see that she was close to you. But that still doesn't answer the question."

Riku stared into space, avoiding Sora's gaze. "Well… it wasn't real. I knew that. I don't know how I knew, I just did."

"It was real enough for her. Especially after she had worked for a month to get it back, always paranoid, never sure if she would survive another day with Saix constantly watching her back, waiting for the slightest excuse to turn her into a Dusk. A _Dusk, _Riku. You know, the creepy things with zippers for mouths. She thought she was going to be one of those things, and it scared her out of her mind. She gets it back, she's so relieved, and then you just walk up and go…" Sora put on a harsh voice. "'_Nope, _sorry, sham. Boo-hoo.' What was up with that?"

Riku snorted. "First of all, that is a terrible impression of me. Second, it wasn't that simple. I was trying to help her, warn her that the Organization was lying to her."

Sora rested his head on the palm of his hand, unsatisfied. "You couldn't have just said something like, 'hey, these people are jerks, here's why'? You know, like a normal person?"

"Like you're normal." Riku took another sip of his coffee. "But yeah, I should have gone about it better. I regretted it, really."

"Would you mind saying sorry?"

Riku looked at Sora like he had just suggested to kiss Xehanort. "You know it wasn't you, right? I get the sense that those memories might be making it feel personal to you."

"I know." Sora tapped his ear. "I mean to her."

"I doubt she can hear us."

"She can, especially if you say her name."

Riku thought for a moment, then got up and whispered into Sora's ear. "Hey, Xion, if you can hear me, I'm sorry I called your Keyblade a sham."

Sora heard a gasp. _He remembers me, too. Oh, wow… I'm not mad about that anymore, but thanks anyway. And thank you for remembering me. Thank you so much…_

"Did she say anything?"

Sora smiled. "She says thanks. Mostly for remembering her."

Riku shook his head. "This is ridiculous…" Then he leaned down and whispered again. "You're welcome, Xion."

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Lea bit into his ice cream and stared at the massive building he was approaching. Yes, that was Castle Oblivion. He bit his lip, remembering some of the less savory things he had done in this place. He had figured that having a heart capable of guilt would be hard on him, but sometimes, the things he had done struck him in the gut. At least now he knew _why _he had killed Vexen in cold blood. It didn't make things any easier on him, though he could at least tell himself that Vexen deserved it for making Xion and then tossing her to the lions. That's all he could tell himself. He hoped he was right.

His thoughts were interrupted by the beep of an alarm. He jolted upright and stared out the window. Another ship was coming into view. It was a beak-shaped metallic vessel with a wedge cutting through the middle, looking like the zipper mouth of a Dusk. It had two guns, one on each side of the 'head', and they clearly had the Gummi's name on them.

He hit a button on the console, letting his voice ring through the ship. "Guys, get in here now!"

Sora, Riku and Kairi ran into the cockpit and stared at the enemy ship."What is that thing?" Kairi asked.

"Something that wants to blow us up." Lea flipped a switch, brining the weapons systems online. "Okay, I'll fly, Riku will shoot, Sora will man the shields and Kairi will repair things."

Riku plopped down in the seat for the weapons and put headphones on. "Why does this seem suspiciously like a space opera?"

"Because it is."

Taking cues from such things, Riku shot first. The enemy ship—which the radar had marked as a 'Defender'—exploded with little fanfare. "That was easy," he said.

Lea cringed as three more Defenders appeared on the radar. "Don't get your hopes up."

The lead Defender opened fire, and the Gummi shuddered. A piercing alarm sounded, indicating that the homing missiles were down. Kairi ran off to work on repairs, and Lea turned the ship around, giving Riku a clear shot. He fired the guns again, and the leader exploded, white-hot shrapnel flying off into the distance.

Before anyone could show much enthusiasm, the two other ships broke off and flanked the Gummi, hitting it from both sides. Sora grunted. "The shields are taking a beating. I can practically feel it."

Kairi screeched from the weapon room. "I can feel it, period! A Gummi missile falling on your head is not pleasant!"

Lea made a loop-de-loop with the Gummi, confusing the Defenders just long enough for Riku to fire two quick shots at them, making them join their comrades. Sora whooped. "We got them!"

Riku made a small laugh. "No thanks to you."

"Hey, shields are very important. Man, I wish I had a ship like this when I was first travelling the worlds."

All of a sudden, another alarm went off, blaring in everyone's ears. A new ship appeared. It looked like the Defenders, but it was much bigger, and it had four wings with huge lasers on the ends. It approached at a slow yet terrifying speed.

"I hate to bring an end to the return of non-angsty Sora," Lea yelled. "But that thing clearly wants to kill us!"

Out of nowhere, Lea heard a sinister voice in his head. _Forget, _it said, sending chills up Lea's spine. _Erase. _Apparently, the enemy was now telepathic. Was it talking about… who? The black-haired girl? What was her name again…

Lea slammed his hand on the console. "Xion!"

Riku turned to face him. "You hear it, too?"

"Yeah. Looks like Xemnas wants a rematch, and he's trying this first." Lea pushed the ship to full throttle, sending it hurtling towards the enemy, labeled 'Mega Defender' on the radar. "I am not forgetting Xion again, no matter what!"

Riku fired the guns again, but the shots just bounced off the Mega Defender as the Gummi flew under it. Lea looped around, allowing Riku to shoot again, but it was about as effective as the first time. The Mega Defender pivoted its lasers and fired them all at once, four massive beams just barely missing the Gummi.

Lea called behind him. "Some missiles would be really helpful in this situation, Kairi!"

The alarm from the missiles stopped beeping. It had become so steady that Lea had forgotten there was an alarm. "Good," Kairi said as she ran back into the cockpit. "Because I'm done repairing that thing."

Riku locked onto the Mega Defender and hit a button, firing the homing missiles. They flew out of their tubes and toward the ship. The lasers blew up, leaving the Mega Defender with no weapons. It tried to cut and run, but Riku fired another round of missiles, hitting the ship square on. Instantly, there was a white flash, and the shrapnel flew off into space. The shockwave from the blast flew just overhead, and the ship trembled slightly.

Riku dusted off his hands. "Participate in a space battle: checked off my to-do list."

Kairi cheered and high-fived Lea. Sora didn't look quite as happy. He stood up and took deep breaths. He seemed to be muttering something to himself. After a moment, he banged his hand on the shield console. "Xion," he said, his voice still low but now audible. "Her name… is Xion…"

Kairi approached Sora carefully. 'Are you okay, Sora?"

Sora took more deep breaths. "I think that thing… almost made me lose her name."

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**And there you have it! I loved writing that whole thing. I've always wanted to slap Riku for the 'Keyblade-is-sham' thing, because it was just such a jerkish and unnecessary thing to say at that juncture. Heck, in the original outline, I actually had Sora slap Riku across the face. Luckily, I realized that it would be horribly OOC, leading me to give Riku a chance to make his case and apologize. I think it turned out better than an act of violence ever would have.**

**The second scene was also extremely fun to write. Part of my KH3 wishlist is for Gummi ship combat to go from being a simple on-rails shooter to a full-fledged space combat simulator. I imagined that scene as the Gummi ship tutorial, teaching crew positions and controls and missile lock-on. It helped that I had an action-packed, upbeat rap song playing in my head while I wrote the scene. That was awesome. :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. My previous offer is still standing, and I really need to get going on that trope page, so the first person to mention three tropes from any point in the story (three is the minimum required for a page) gets three extra bonus points in the final count. Get to work, my friends!**

**Thanks for reading, and keep your eyes peeled for chapter four of Unforgettable!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, this will be the last thing I post before I **_**finally **_**get back to work on Heroics. Promise. :) With that out of the way, here's chapter four, with a quick checkup on the inhabitants of Sora's heart and the first ground-based fight scene. No reason to delay. I hope you enjoy!**

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**Unforgettable**

**Chapter IV**

**Behind The Walls**

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"_I want everyone to draw a picture of Xion, put her name on it and hang it up in the cockpit."_

"_Is that really necessary?"_

"_Considering that I almost lost her name when I have all of her memories, yes, it is."_

"_Sora, you're getting obsessed."_

"_Yeah, it's called friendship, all right?"_

"_You met her yesterday."_

"_And I have all of her memories, and know everything about her. I think you keep forgetting that."_

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Drawing. Always, always drawing. Recording everything. Even Namine had to admit that it could occasionally get tedious. Yet, she pushed on, making sure no one forgot anything important, making sure she never had to have a repeat of the things she had been forced to do before. Keep on drawing…

There was a knock at Namine's door. "It's unlocked," she said. "Come in."

Xion stepped into the white room. It looked just like Namine's old room back at the mansion in Twilight Town, with the addition of a small bed. She kept meaning to change it, to distance herself from her past, but she never got around to it. Perhaps she just found it familiar.

Xion sat down in the chair opposite Namine. "I just wanted to say sorry," she said.

Namine finished off her rendition of the Mega Defender exploding. "About threatening me?"

Xion nodded. "Yeah. I don't know what I was thinking. I was just so desperate to get out of this place. It was like something was taking over."

Namine put down her sketchbook and looked Xion in the eyes. "It's okay. You've been through a lot. It's understandable that you might get a little depressed, and that sort of thing can mess with your head."

"Well…" Xion got up and started pacing around the room, looking at the drawings on the wall. "I've been feeling a lot better. Roxas finally started talking to me again, did I tell you?"

Namine smiled. "I saw you two talking on the beach. You look cute together."

Xion got red in the face. "Um, well, I guess I like him. I mean, I've always liked him…"

Namine laughed. "Don't feel embarrassed. It's not my business anyway, so you don't have to tell me anything."

"Oh… okay." Xion sighed and leaned on the north wall. She took a good look at the picture of Sora and Roxas holding hands. "I like this one the best."

Namine started work on the next drawing. "I knew you would."

Xion closed her eyes. After a moment, she let out a yelp and got away from the wall, looking terrified. She touched the wall with her fingers, then yelped again and backed away from it slowly, staring at it like it was a Giant Heartless.

Namine held her by the arm as she came within grabbing distance. "Are you okay?"

"Probably…" She didn't stop staring at the wall. "I'm real, right?"

Namine blinked. "I've told you before. You're a real person, no matter your origins."

"You remember me, right?" When Namine hesitated—she wasn't sure where this was coming from—Xion turned toward her with a jolt. _"Right?"_

Namine stroked her friend's arm, trying to calm her down. "Yes, I do."

"Prove it. Say my name."

Xion was really getting weird now. Hadn't she just said she was feeling better? Namine kept stroking her arm, pushing away her own rising confusion for now. "Xion. Xion. Xion."

Registering the sound of her name, Xion sighed in relief and sat down on the ground next to the chair. "…I'm sorry. When I touched the wall, I heard a voice of some sort. It said that no one remembers me, that I'm not real. I don't know…" She trailed off, still staring at the wall. "I think I'm sick."

Namine kept stroking her arm. "I won't lie to you, Xion. You are. But you won't be for much longer."

"No, I mean, I'm actually sick. Like, with a headache." Xion rubbed her forehead. "It hurts. A lot."

"Will you be all right?"

She cringed. "Yeah, I think I will. Just be quieter for me, okay?" Namine nodded, and Xion rubbed her eyes. "What's up with that wall?"

Namine sighed. "That's the wall that separates me from whatever's in that horrible room."

Xion jumped up. "You mean the one with the 'do not open' note on it?"

Namine considered lying, but realized that it would be pointless. Xion wasn't stupid. "Yes. That room."

It had exactly the effect Namine had feared. Xion started breathing short, panicky breaths, and summoned her Keyblade instinctively, clutching the handle tight. "I don't want… whatever's in there… in my head." She dropped the Keyblade on the ground, wincing at the loud _clang, _and put her face in her hands. "I don't want… to be insane…"

"You won't be. It's going to be okay." Namine gave her a final pat on the arm. "Why don't you go to your room? I can have the boys check on that wall for us."

"Yeah… yeah, that sounds like a really good idea…" She backed up, a little faster this time. "I don't want to hurt you," she whispered before running off.

Namine considered those six words._ I don't want to hurt you. _Where did that come from? Now, Namine was wondering whether Xion was really feeling better or only getting worse. And if she was feeling better, that presented a whole new problem.

Just what was living behind that wall?

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Lea stood in front of the gate, staring up at the massive castle. Despite its size, it still seemed a little smaller than he remembered. Maybe it was a side-effect of Sora rampaging through the place like it was nothing (which, technically, it was), and then it being left abandoned for a couple years. Maybe it was just that he had almost intentionally avoided this place for those couple years, and he was remembering wrong. Given the fact that it was even still standing, Lea guessed the latter.

He clapped his hands together. "Whelp, there it is. Who goes first?"

Riku smirked. "What? You're the most knowledgeable about this castle. You scared?"

"Are you?"

Riku rolled his eyes, clearly enjoying himself. He walked up to the door and pushed it open. As it opened, it made an ominous creaking sound, reverberating through the empty grass fields nearby. The door opened into a immense white hallway. The four heroes walked in, taking in the scope of the place.

Kairi rubbed the back of her neck—she was starting to pick up the habit from Sora. "It's… really big."

"Excellent observation," Lea said while looking around. "We wouldn't have noticed, surely. Okay, I think the files on the Replica Program were on the thirteenth floor."

Riku sighed. "Replicas. Lovely."

"Let me guess…"

"No, actually. Don't." Riku walked toward the lower levels, clearly trying to avoid social contact. "I've got my own business here. Keyblade wielders, you know. Let me know if you make any major breakthroughs."

Lea sighed and nodded. He understood that Riku would have bad memories of his own Replica, but being anti-social was a bit much. Heck, shouldn't he have gotten over it by now? It'd been a while. Lea had always been the type to look for the future rather than dwell on the past. Sometimes, that was all he could do to avoid the guilty feelings from the things he had done. He never understood how Riku could be so focused on his own bad past and yet still sleep at night. Being around Sora seemed to help him, but now that Sora was getting all angsty from Xion, Lea wondered how Riku would react.

Lea, Sora and Kairi moved through Castle Oblivion warily. Without Namine and the cards to give the castle form, it was just a bunch of overly long hallways and excessively tall staircases. Really, it wasn't nearly as impressive. Still, it brought back times that Lea didn't want to remember. He knew visiting this place would cause that, but he hadn't expected it to be this bad. It was all coming back to him at once, every terrible thing he had done here. It felt horrible.

Luckily for his newfound heart, Lea's train of thought was interrupted when Sora stopped abruptly in the middle of the fourth floor. "Are you okay, kid?" Lea asked.

Sora turned his head around, looking for something. After a moment, he drew his Keyblade and got into combat stance. "Weapons, now."

"Wha—"

Out of the blue, several white, vaguely humanoid bodies with spindly arms and zippers for mouths rose up out of the ground, surrounding the three. There were at least a dozen of them, maybe twice that. Lea had trouble keeping count here.

Kairi summoned her Keyblade. "Dusks!"

Lea tried to bring his own Keyblade into his hands, but ended up with his chakrams instead. That happened to him a lot—grabbing for the chakrams was just instinctive. It would have to do, though. He made a flourish and readied himself. "How is this even possible?"

Sora swung his Keyblade down. "Why should we care right now? Attack!"

Lea charged, cutting through two of the Dusks like butter. One of them poked him in the back, but it just made him mad. He whipped around, knocking the Dusk to the ground with a swift kick to the head. Two more Dusks tried to flank him, but he stepped aside just as they stabbed at him, knocking their heads together as he did.

Kairi was doing pretty well, but four of the Dusks were ganging up on her. She kicked one away, but the other three knocked her to the ground with their stabbing. Lea rushed in and eliminated two of them, giving Kairi enough time to use a potion. Back in action, Kairi yelled a quick thanks as she sliced through the two remaining enemies.

Lea looked over to Sora. The boy was stomping everything, not even breaking a sweat. He had done this many, many times before. Four more Dusks tried to surround him like they had Kairi, but he did a backflip over one of them, slashing it with his Keyblade as he came down. Even Lea was impressed—Sora had always been good, but he had never seen him do anything like _that _before. Sora cut through the other three with ease.

Sora, Lea and Kairi kept fighting off the Dusks. Just when it seemed as though the battle was over, another wave came up, the same size as last time. Lea got into fighting stance again. "Really? These guys never were good at taking a hint!"

Sora gritted his teeth. "Okay, I'm done with this." He drew his Keyblade back and concentrated. "Take this!"

Instantly, Sora became a whirlwind of power. He spun around wildly, his Keyblade glowing blue, hacking and slashing at the Dusks. The things never had half a chance against an attack like this. They exploded like fireworks into Munny and items. For the finale, Sora let go of the Keyblade. It spun around the room like a boomerang, annihilating the few survivors of the initial attack. The Keyblade flew back into Sora's hand, and he did a few backflips and a final flourish.

Lea and Kairi stared at Sora, shocked at the amazing display of force. After a long moment, Lea whistled. "Whoa."

Sora put his Keyblade away. "Yeah. Whoa." After checking for more Dusks, he walked towards the stairs. "Let's keep moving."

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Riku walked the dark halls of the basement of Castle Oblivion. He'd explored here the first time, but not this thoroughly. This time, he was checking every single nook and cranny, under boxes, behind previously locked doors and even an occasional look up at the ceiling. He knew the person he was looking for was in this place, but he was having a hard time pinning him down. Even with the worst aspects of the castle removed long ago, it was still large, confusing and dangerous. Forget needle in a haystack—he was looking for hay in a stack of needles.

As he searched, he dwelled on the 'project' that had taken place here. He had a Replica, and apparently Sora did, too. Did Kairi have one? The Organization members? _Everyone? _It was a paranoia-inducing train of thought, so Riku tried to draw his attention back to the search.

It wasn't that hard. Riku rounded a corner and encountered a door he didn't remember seeing before. He drew his weapon, just in case, and approached the door. After a quick test knock (again, just in case), he opened the door.

His eyes immediately came to rest on a blond boy in a partial suit of armor. He looked a lot like Roxas. Actually, once Riku took a closer look, it became clear that he looked exactly like Roxas. He was sleeping, or perhaps simply unconscious. Or else, half-dead. That was a possibility, too.

Riku ran his hand along the shoulder guard of the armor, its main point of interest. After a moment, he smiled. "Looks like I've found our Keybearer…"

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**Cliff Hanger! Hanging from a cliff! That's why they call him Cliff Hanger! …Uh, sorry. :)**

**I liked writing the fight scene a lot. Writing Invader made me a thousand times better at those. It isn't nearly as hard as it looks, once you get the hang of it. It's good, because this fic and my KH3 fic will have a **_**lot **_**of fight scenes. I also got a chance to show off a few more game mechanics—unarmed combat (done in the style of the Batman: Arkham games), acrobatic combat and even Sora's Limit Break. Truly my favorite fight scene that I've written. Then again, I'm biased. :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. I made a TV Tropes page for this baby! If you want to see it, go to TV Tropes and go to the page Fanfic/Unforgettable. It's pretty barebones at this point, but I'm sure my fans can help me out! :)**

**Thanks for reading, and be sure to keep watching for chapter five!**


	5. Chapter 5

…**Did I skip a few Saturdays? Looks like I did, whoops, sorry… :)**

**Yup, this awesomeness is finally back with chapter five. Hearts will be warmed, plans will be made and secrets will be revealed. I would like to send quick shoutout to Mathmagician96, who has been sending my wonderfully long reviews for all my stories via PM. Thanks, Mathmagician! Can you send me some of that math magic, please? I suck at math… :)**

**Let's avoid any more delays and get going!**

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**Unforgettable**

**Chapter V**

**Names**

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"_I wish these Dusks were around to stop her when she came here."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because she might never have found out. Because she might still be here. Because we might still be—"_

"_Would that have been any better? Never knowing her origins, destined to be used as a puppet forever without realizing it?"_

"…_You make a good point."_

"_It's easier when you can see her entire life and all of her thoughts and feelings laid bare."_

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Roxas paced up and down his room, which looked just like his old spot under the tracks in Twilight Town, something he always hated. If it was his choice, the door with the note would already be open, and he'd already be beating the snot out of whatever was inside. He had never been one to wait around, and he knew he could take on anything that came through that door. But alas, his 'twin' was keeping him from doing that.

"Roxas. You don't need to stress over her. I've already moved Namine to Xi…" Ventus hesitated, and then sighed. "The room marked with an _X_."

Roxas slammed his hand down on the armrest of the couch. "I keep telling you. It's not about Namine. It's about _her. _The _other _girl. The one you _neglected to tell me about."_

Ventus closed his eyes. "I tried to tell you when you came here. Something in your mind drowned it out. I'm surprised that it's coming back to you now. I mean, I'm happy, but I'm surprised."

"Well, it sure isn't being drowned out now, so why don't you tell me her name?"

It took Ventus a moment to answer. "…Xion."

Roxas shut his eyes tight. _Xion, Xion, Xion, Xi… Xi… shi… _"Say it again."

"If it didn't work the first time—"

Roxas grit his teeth. "I said _again."_

"Xion."

"…Again."

Ventus sat down on the couch and rubbed his face. "All right. Last time. Get ready." He took a deep breath. "Xion."

"…Xi… Xi… Xi…" After a few seconds of concentration, Roxas grabbed the nearest object—which happened to be a small book—and threw it against the wall, letting out a frustrated cry. "Why can't I keep a hold on a stupid name?!"

"Because even if you want to remember, the bad guys made it so that your _brain _doesn't want to remember, and if your brain isn't cooperating, then it's not going to work."

Roxas slumped down next to Ventus. "I promised to remember her. I'm going to keep that promise, no matter what it takes."

"You'll get it soon. Don't obsess over it."

Roxas threw his arms in the air. "Well, what am I supposed to do?!"

"Let Sora do the heavy lifting. He's the key. No pun intended."

"…Well, then, Sora better work a little faster, because I'm getting pissed off."

Ventus sighed again. "Yeah. I noticed…"

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Xion sat down next to Namine on the newly-placed bed, letting out a puff of air. "Welcome to my room. Which I hate."

Namine kept drawing. "You _are _allowed to change it."

"I keep meaning to. Never get around to it."

Namine laughed. "I think that applies pretty well to all of us."

Xion locked her hands behind her head and slumped down. "Maybe if I had help."

"I could help."

Xion stretched. "And also if I knew what to change it to."

Namine put down her sketchbook and thought for a moment. "Hmm… paint it orange, maybe? Your favorite color, right?"

Xion smiled, thinking of the sunset. "Good idea. But where do we get the paint?"

The door creaked open. There stood Roxas. He was wearing his Organization coat—that was odd. He mostly wore his casual clothes, since the coat brought back memories that were bad even with a certain girl edited out of them. Xion also noticed that he had rather poor posture, as if he were mad about something.

Despite the intimidating demeanor, Roxas was acting friendly enough at the moment. He smiled. "I could find some paint."

Xion waved at him. "Oh, hey, Roxas. We were just talking about changing this room up."

"Bad memories?"

"Mostly, yeah."

Roxas closed his eyes. "I can relate."

Namine frowned. "You're still mad about Twilight Town, huh?"

"Yup."

Xion sat up. "It wasn't all bad, you know."

"It wasn't real."

"It was real enough for us. I have good memories of that town."

"Such as?"

Xion smiled and made a spot on the bed. "Well, sit down. I'll tell you one."

"Sure." Roxas walked over and sat down, giving her an intense stare. "I want to remember everything I can…"

0=0=0=0=0=0

_*BZZT*_

_With the mission complete, I start to walk off toward the clocktower, but then I hear a voice. "…R… Roxas…"_

"_Huh?" I turn around. "What did you say?"_

_The hooded girl stares straight at me. "Your name… it's… Roxas, isn't it?"_

_I nod. "Yeah… That's right."_

_She walks into the dark corridor, leaving me behind. I find myself thinking about the day I got that name, when Xemnas threw an X into a name I don't remember. I wonder why I couldn't keep my old name. I guess I just didn't need to. _

_My name… was that first thing she ever said?_

_*BZZT*_

0=0=0=0=0=0

As Xion finished recounting the memory, Roxas held his temple in thought. "…Yeah, I remember that now. Was that really the first thing you ever said? My name?"

"Yeah." Xion stared at Namine, who seemed to be drawing something frantically at the other side of the room. "I thought words before that, but I had trouble actually saying the words. And my vocabulary was pretty poor. All my other thoughts that day were things like 'I'm hungry' and 'that's our target' and 'I'll get this done fast so I can eat'."

Roxas snorted. "You were hungry that day?"

"I skipped breakfast because there was no cereal."

"You were a _picky eater?_"

Xion giggled, smiling a huge smile. "No, I didn't have enough mental capacity for that yet. I thought I was only allowed to eat cereal—all the other food was for the grown-ups."

Roxas scratched the back of his head. "I honestly think I thought the same thing the first couple weeks." Then he looked serious again. "Why did you decide to say my name?"

Xion looked back at him. "Two reasons. First, because it seemed like an easy word to say. Five letters, two short syllables. A good practice word, you know? And second…" Xion sat a little closer. "…I liked you."

"Even then?"

"Even then."

"Why?"

"You actually paid attention to me. That was pretty big for me at the time."

Roxas thought of his early days in the Organization, when he completed the missions he was assigned without thought. "I can imagine." Then he thought of something. "Your name… does it have an X in it?"

Xion caught her breath. "…Yes… that's the first letter."

Roxas was silent for a long moment. "…Your name… is it… Xion?"

Xion's face lit up as bright as the setting sun. She hugged Roxas tight. "Yes… yes it is."

Roxas returned the hug. It felt good to touch someone like this again. He hadn't done it in a long time. No one to hug.

He watched as Namine put up a drawing on the opposite wall. He had seen it before—the picture of himself and Axel holding hands. But now there was a new person, a new figure, with black hair and an Organization coat.

Xion. Roxas loved listening to the sound of that name. Xion…

0=0=0=0=0=0

"They're gone."

Sora looked up at Lea. "What?!"

"I said they're gone." Lea stared at the orb that was supposed to house the files on the Replica Program. "Every single file, every single formula, every single note. Everything that was in here has been completely erased."

Sora looked at the orb again. "Don't give up. There has to be at least _something."_

"Sora, I tried every keyword I could think of. Xion, Riku, Namine, Replica, memory. It's all gone. Get it memorized."

"But how…" Sora got up and slammed his hand on the orb. When he realized that giving it a good smack had also failed, his face fell. "Xemnas. Of course he would delete everything even remotely related to Xion. Just like he erased everything else…"

"Hey." Kairi patted him on the shoulder. "It's okay. We can find another way."

"Yeah." Sora nodded, and his trademark smile returned. "Saving her might be harder than I thought… but it'll be worth it."

Lea laughed. "There's the Sora I know."

Sora heard footsteps and turned around. Riku was carrying someone. Roxas? No. Roxas never wore that armor. But the resemblance was uncanny. The boy also felt a little familiar to him, though he couldn't place why. He had gotten a similar feeling about Xion during the fight with the Mega Defender. Was it another person Xemnas had erased?

Sora walked over. "Don't tell me I have _another _Nobody."

Riku smirked. "Thank goodness, no. This is our Keyblade wielder." He set the unconscious boy down, propping him up against the orb. "Ugh, had to carry him up twenty-five flights of stairs…"

Kairi raised her eyebrow. "…That seems a little too easy to me."

"What? You _want _it to be hard?"

"No, it's just…"

Suddenly, the boy stirred. He stood up, not opening his eyes yet. How was he moving if he was unconscious?

Kairi stepped back. "…It feels like a trap!"

The boy opened his eyes. They were a bright red. Without speaking a word, he summoned two swords—something distinctly un-Keyblade-like—and got into a combat stance, carrying the swords with a reverse grip.

Riku summoned his Keyblade. "Well, thanks for tempting fate…"

Sora saw the swords and gasped. They looked very familiar…

0=0=0=0=0=0

_*BZZT*_

_It hurts to fight him like this. He's my own best friend, this boy who has been so kind to me all these days, and this is the thanks I give him? With every swing of these swords, I run the risk of destroying him. I suppose that if I were the one who ended up absorbing him, it wouldn't matter. I could just go to Sora, and he'd get the memories back just the same._

_But it does matter. It matters so much. I may be willing to go now, but what if he isn't? I can't take his existence from him. He has to give himself to Sora on his own. That's the fair way. The way he would do it for me._

_He strikes me with the Keyblade again, and I catch a glimpse of his face. I see anguish. Pain. Tears. So many tears… I would cry too, but I can't in this form. I wish it didn't have to be this way._

_I wish we could just have one more day…_

_*BZZT*_

0=0=0=0=0=0

Sora closed his eyes. A small stream of tears rolled down his face. _They both deserved so much more…_

Lea snapped his fingers. "Hey! Sora! Snap out of it! We've got a decoy to fight!"

Indeed, the decoy was ready. It went for Kairi first, lunging into the air and bringing the swords down hard. Kairi just managed to dodge out of the way, and the swords hit the ground with a loud _clang. _Immediately, the decoy got back up and charged. But Kairi was ready this time. She blocked one of the swords with her Keyblade and sidestepped the other. This seemed to leave it in a daze, giving her a chance to hit it a few times.

But it wasn't done yet. After taking a few hits, it jumped back and raised the swords in the air, drawing power. Lea managed to throw a quick ball of flame at it (which had little effect) before releasing the energy in a beam, followed by several balls of light that reminded Sora of one of Roxas' attacks. All this hit Lea, knocking him out cold.

Again, the decoy had to take a moment to recover from the energy it had used in its own attacks, giving Sora, Riku and Kairi a chance to move in and cause more damage. After taking a good amount of damge, it swung both of the swords outwards, releasing a shockwave. Sora and Riku knew enough about enemies like this to jump out of the way in time, but Kairi was the inexperienced one, and she was hit with the full force of the blast.

She jumped back and gritted her teeth. "Oh, it's going to pay for that one…" She raised her Keyblade into the air. "Here we go!"

Tropical flowers appeared out of nowhere and spun around the Keyblade, slowly becoming a tornado. Once the storm of flowers reached its full size, Kairi released it, sending it straight toward the decoy. It struck square on, and the decoy was thrown into a wall. After a moment, it turned into a beam of plasma and shot off through the ceiling into the sky, leaving a small hole in its wake.

Sora smiled at Kairi. "I don't know how you did that. But it was awesome."

Kairi panted. "Actually… I don't know how I did it, either."

Lea blinked and sat up. "Gah… little help?"

Riku tossed Lea a potion and looked up at the hole in the ceiling. "Well, that was disappointing."

Sora walked up behind him. "You know what they say about things worth doing."

"Good point. Still hate it." He turned to face Sora. "What about you? Any luck with Xion?"

Sora heaved a big, almost theatrical sigh. "No. Xemnas erased all the files. The whole thing is empty."

"He must really want to keep Xion under wraps."

Sora smiled and put his hands behind his head. "I bet he's afraid of her. The coward doesn't think he can handle more Keyblades."

Riku sat down on the floor. "How do you manage to be so cheerful all the time?"

Sora sat down next to him. "Friends. Like you."

"Right." Riku sighed. "If I may ask, why were you crying back there?"

Sora lost the smile. "Those swords… they looked like swords Xion had to use on her last day to fight Roxas. Her best friend…" He shook his head. "It hurts to carry these memories sometimes. But I have to, or I'll forget her. I have to go on."

Riku nodded, looking solemn. "Of course. Moving on. What do we do now?"

Sora held his chest. "She's in my heart, right? I think the best thing I can do is find a way to get everyone's hearts out of there."

"I thought about that. But there's a problem." Riku pulled a small notebook out of a pocket and flipped to a page with a lot of text and a drawing of a heart. "Without bodies, those hearts are just going to go back to you, or into someone else. Or worse, they'll just float off and join Kingdom Hearts, and we'll lose them forever."

Sora thought for a moment. "So we need to get the bodies for the hearts first."

"Exactly. I know at least one of the bodies is in this castle, but Roxas, Namine and…" Riku shut his eyes for a moment. "Shoot… Xion, Xion… their bodies are gone."

"So we find them."

"It's not a matter of finding them. Nothing to find, remember?"

Sora thought to himself again. "…Do they have to be the same bodies?"

"Probably, yes."

"…The same bodies in their present form?"

It took Riku a moment to comprehend what Sora was thinking. "…You're kidding."

Sora just grinned in delight. "I'm the crazy one, remember?"

"Oh, yes, you are…"

0=0=0=0=0=0

"These toys we make always get broken, don't they?"

"Ah, this was only a prototype. The real one will be much more impressive, I assure you."

"I should hope so. Now then. What of the puppet?"

"The puppet?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"…Ah. We have had many puppets, and I never really got to know the one you refer to well. Mostly because of what you did to deal with me."

"I still consider you a possible traitor of the New Organization."

"Then I suppose I will have to prove to you otherwise."

"Don't get off topic. It cannot be allowed to return. The fact that they're remembering it is trouble enough. The only reason I let you back into this Organization is that you have experience in memory collection."

"You could say that."

"I do not believe Lord Xemnas can resolve this issue on his own, and of course Master Xehanort is too wrapped up in his own schemes to be of use. You are to make certain that the puppet is erased from the worlds just as thoroughly as it was the first time."

"Consider it done."

0=0=0=0=0=0

**I can't comment much on the second half of this chapter much due to all the secrets, but I can talk about the first half. I never finished Re:coded, but I recently watched the cutscene where Data Roxas is talking to Sora before attacking him on YouTube, and the whole speech about forgetting and feeling hurt for people you don't remember was so obviously alluding to Xion that I wanted to cry. Xion has that effect in general, but this time I was more sympathetic toward poor Roxas, who probably feels a terrible ache and can't remember why. That convinced me to speed up the remembering process a bit. Darn it, Square, why do you always have to make us cry? :P**

**Anyway, I'm genuinely sorry I left this sitting around for so long. Hopefully, that won't happen again, now that my brain has recovered from the writer's block I was going through. This is definitely a project I want to finish, no matter how long it takes. All for you (and Xion)! :D**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading, and tune in next time for chapter six, where things kick up a notch or two…**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello once again, my fellow KH fans! I have arrived with chapter five, in which plans are made and things are investigated. I'm going to say something right now: Mathmagician just ensured the future of this story by outlining a perfect plot I would never have thought of on my own. A lot of the following, especially the stuff in Sora's perspective, is from his ideas. He gets a massive shoutout right here. I would also like to give a quick shoutout to TTY7 for all the lovely reviews she's left for this and Sea-Salt Stories. Thanks! I'll reply properly soon, promise! **

**With that, let's get going!**

0=0=0=0=0=0

**Unforgettable**

**Chapter VI**

**Zany Schemes**

0=0=0=0=0=0

"_Why are you attacking random crabs?"_

"_I'm going to use their shells to make orange paint for Xion."_

"…_There are better ways to make paint."_

"_If you know one, I'm all ears."_

"_You're just venting your frustrations, aren't you?"_

"…_Shut up."_

"_You can't solve everything by hitting it."_

"_Did you hear me or not?"_

0=0=0=0=0=0

As usual, Kairi had no clue what was going on.

She paced up and down the makeshift meeting room Sora had made in the Gummi Ship. Unlike the rest of the ship, this room was dim and cold. It had been set up in a spare room near the life support. There was a small folding table in the center, surrounded by four folding chairs. It was, overall, a gloomy room. Lea had discovered a while ago that magic was a far more reliable source of power than happiness and smiles. This was lucky, because this room did not make Kairi particularly happy.

She stared at the pictures on the wall, pictures of a girl who looked like her and yet didn't at the same time, a girl she never knew. Sora had drawn all of them. She wasn't sure what to make of it. She wasn't jealous—she knew Sora was just trying to help, and she trusted him. But at the same time, she found it a little unhealthy. Maybe having Xion's memories made it more important to him. He did keep mentioning it, after all.

Kairi hear the door open, and turned around. Sora was by himself. He blinked. "Oh, hey, Kairi. I'm just waiting for Riku to come with the coffee. He insists it'll be worth the wait."

Kairi smirked. "It really isn't. That stuff tastes terrible."

"I know. I tried it. Doesn't stop him." Sora smiled and walked over. "Didn't expect you to be in here. What's going on?"

"Oh, I'm just thinking."

He looked up at the drawings. "About Xion?"

"In a way."

Sora scratched the back of his neck. "…I seem weird, don't I?"

Kairi sighed. "A little. But I get it. If I thought I was going to forget someone important to me, I'd probably be doing the same thing."

"Are you forgetting? About her, I mean? You haven't mentioned it."

Kairi blinked. "Actually… no. I remember everything you told me about her."

Sora shrugged. "Maybe because you never met her. She's just a story to you." He thought for a moment. "And don't take that the wrong way, I'm not saying—"

"I know." Kairi turned around to face him, smiling. "It's okay. This is important to you. I understand. I'm your friend. I'm always on your side. Always remember that."

Sora blushed. "Uh, I will…"

Kairi just laughed. "Oh, Sora…"

This cute, beautiful moment was interrupted by the arrival of the other two boys. Riku, as promised, was carrying two coffees. Lea was carrying a coffee of his own and some notebooks. Given that there were no writing utensils, Kairi guessed they were Riku's research books, chock full of notes on previous Keyblade wielders and the nature of hearts. He had been spending a lot of time studying the contents of the library in Disney Castle and writing down everything he could find. She found all of it rather dull.

Riku set his coffee down on the table. "Trust me, Sora. You'll hate it for the taste, but tolerate it for the energy."

"But my energy is boundless already."

"It won't be forever."

"Are you saying you're old and tired? 'Cause you're only sixteen."

Riku playfully tapped Sora upside the head. "Shut up."

Sora laughed. "But then I won't be able to tell you my brilliant plan!"

"Whatever."

Kairi smiled. It felt good to see them goofing around like this again. It was something she didn't get to see them do much these days. It was almost like they were back on Destiny Islands, before this whole crazy adventure had started. She sometimes wished they could go back to that time, before Heartless and Keyblades and evil organizations, and just finish that raft and go off to distant worlds.

But at the same time, she knew they couldn't go back. They would eventually return to Destiny Islands, she knew that for sure. But it wouldn't be the same. They had been through too much together for it to be the same.

Sora sat down in the chair facing the door, and Kairi and Riku sat to either side. Lea dropped the notebooks on the table, choosing to stand up. "Okay, Sora. So what's your zany scheme?"

Sora took one sip of the coffee and discreetly passed it to Riku before speaking. "Two words. Time travel."

Silence. Absolute, all-encompassing silence. Lea looked ready to facepalm, and Riku had that I-knew-it look on his face. Kairi was simply confused.

After a long moment, Lea sighed. "Well, at least you can actually count. That's a leg up over that darn goat in Olympus."

"But it's a good idea!" Sora flipped the notebook marked _Time _to the middle. "If Xehanort did it, so can we."

Riku leaned across the table. "Sora. Xehanort is our mortal enemy. Time travel might be a bad guy specific thing. It definitely involves a lot of darkness."

Sora smiled at him. "Remember what King Mickey said about darkness? It's not necessarily evil. Just kind of scary."

"And also really, really powerful. I've done darkness before, Sora. Trust me when I say it's not a toy."

"I never said that. And besides, we don't _know _it involves darkness. We barely know anything about it at all."

Lea rubbed his face. "I'm pretty sure getting rescuing Xion would invoke some paradoxes. You don't want those."

Sora kept flipping through the notebook. "I'm sure if we study it enough, we can find some loopholes."

"Surely. Now how do we study it?"

Sora put his hand to his chin. "…I have a response to that… but it isn't coming to me."

Kairi took the notebook from Sora and started reading. Of course, none of it made a lick of sense to her. Part of it was probably the fact that Riku's handwriting was horrible. Still, she was determined to help somehow. "…Maybe we can talk to Master Yen Sid? He knows a lot of stuff."

Sora nodded. "Yeah. We should talk to Merlin, too. He helped me time travel once."

Riku scratched his cheek, still a little skeptical. "Based on what you told me about that, I think it's a little different."

"We can still use it. I say we get a whole research team together. Yen Sid, Merlin, and Ansem's apprentices."

"Ansem's apprentices? I'm pretty sure all of them are evil."

Sora grinned. "We can convince them."

Lea finally sat down and let his head flop down on the table. "You know what? This kid is pretty smart. I say we go for it."

Kairi nodded. "I don't really understand all this, but I think it can work."

Riku sighed and got up. "Well, I've got a mission of my own. You know that. I came with you because I thought I might find our Keyblade wielder. Obviously, I didn't. I'm going to look for a different one and come back. Whatever you decide to do, you'll have to do it without me for the time being."

Sora sighed, sounding reluctant to let Riku run off again. Then he got up and pulled his friend into a hug. "If you say so. Just be careful, all right?"

Riku looked a little awkward. "Sora… what are you doing…"

Sora let go. "I always thought you seriously needed a hug."

"…Fair enough. Don't get yourself killed while I'm gone, all right?"

"I'm going to come back with Xion and the others. I promise."

Riku smiled. "Good. You keep your promises…"

0=0=0=0=0=0

Ventus watched as Roxas watched the door, as if expecting something to pop out and attack. He was mostly trying to make sure the Roxas didn't do something utterly stupid, like _open the door. _He knew they would probably have to eventually, but he wanted to delay it as much as he possibly could. He wasn't entirely sure what was in there, but he had several likely guesses, and none of them were good.

He walked over and tapped Roxas on the shoulder. "Hey. Roxas. Don't be stupid now."

Roxas didn't let his eyes off the door. "I'm not going to open it. Not yet. I have a better idea."

"And that would be…?"

Roxas took a step toward the door. "Xion heard something by touching the room, right? Maybe I can do the same thing."

"I'm telling you, don't do something rash."

"I'm just investigating, all right? We can't figure out what it is if we don't check it out."

Ventus closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "Fine. But just touch it, all right? And get away if you hear anything."

Roxas nodded and approached the door, sticking his hand out. After a moment's hesitation, he stuck his whole hand right on the _DO NOT OPEN _note.

After a moment, Roxas grabbed his head and grunted in pain. Despite this, he didn't let go of the door. Ventus waited a moment, but then Roxas grunted again, louder, and he called out. "Roxas, let go, now!"

"No… I've got something…" Roxas kept pushing against the door, even as he gritted his teeth hard. "Have to figure out what it's saying…"

Ventus grabbed Roxas' arm. "Roxas, I said _now."_

Roxas wasn't listening anymore. In fact, he seemed more concerned with whatever he was hearing from the room. He started muttering to himself. "…How did Sora trick Xion? …That would take too long, tell me now…"

Ventus made a snap decision. He summoned his Keyblade and forced Roxas away from the door, knocking him to the ground with one swing. Then he pulled Roxas as far away from the door as possible, propping the limp body up against one of the tall trees supporting the wooden platform.

When Roxas came to his senses, he got up and shoved Ventus. "He was about to tell me something important!"

"No, Roxas. It's lying. It's trying to trick you."

Roxas growled. "How would you know? If you had just let me—"

Ventus held Roxas on the shoulder. "Calm down, now. I saw you. You were in pain, weren't you?"

Roxas brushed the shoulder off with a good amount of force. "Yeah, I was in pain. Pain I was willing to stand to help Xion."

"You looked like you were about to pass out from it. Do you still feel anything?"

"Why should I—_hnngh!"_ Roxas grabbed his head again, this time with both hands. His breathing was heavy. "Why should I… tell you… anything?"

"Because we can't stop it unless—"

Roxas shoved Ventus again. _"It?"_

Ventus sighed. "Roxas, I doubt it's a person."

Roxas narrowed his eyes. "I knew someone once who referred to people as things. I'm not interested in taking orders from that kind of guy again."

"Roxas—"

Roxas stormed to his room, slamming the door shut behind him so hard that a single coconut fell of a branch and onto the platform. Ventus could hear yelling about how much Roxas hated him. He considered unlocking the door with his Keyblade, but then decided that it would be best to let Roxas rage himself out first. The good thing about Roxas' anger was that when it flared up, it only took a few minutes of throwing things and stomping around for him to calm down again. Then again, this was his first 'tantrum' since Sora's test. He had mostly calmed his inner demons, and Ventus would have thought that remembering Xion would only help him more.

He took a long look at the door, as if it were a person he could talk to. "Whatever you are, you're certainly not here to help him, or anyone else…"

0=0=0=0=0=0

**Plans for time travel. More clues from the Evil Door. I'd say that's good for one chapter. :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Also remember that I'm still looking for tropes, if you browse TV Tropes a lot… :)**

**Thanks for reading, and be sure to tune in for chapter seven, when we finally get things really moving…**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello, fellow users of this lovely thing we call the Internet. So, I beat Days last night (and by last night, I mean at 2:30 AM or so). The ending was depressing as usual, but for some reason, I didn't tear up this time around (though I still wanted to cry). It took me a moment to figure out why: I'm writing this, where she is being saved! I managed to soften the heartbreak of one of the biggest sad endings in gaming history. I'm not sure whether I should feel proud or ashamed… :P**

**Anyway, on to chapter seven, where we check on Sora's heart yet again. Thanks once again to all the awesome reviewers. Let's get to it!**

0=0=0=0=0=0

**Unforgettable**

**Chapter VII**

**My Fault**

0=0=0=0=0=0

"_Master Yen Sid, can you please teach us time travel?"_

"…_You have always been to the point. But time is a fickle thing. Even I do not understand it fully."_

"_That's why I'm setting up a research team. We can figure out how it works. I thought you could lead it."_

"_And why not you?"_

"_But… you know more about this than I do…"_

"_True. And I will help you. But you are the chosen. You are the hero of this story. Keep that in mind in all your endeavors."_

0=0=0=0=0=0

_I have to see her, I have to, I have to—what? Who's grabbing me? I try to turn around, but whoever it is has me stuck. "Let go! I need to see her!"_

_A voice sounds. "You can't."_

_It's Sora. Of course it's Sora. I struggle harder. "Why not?!"_

"_You aren't allowed."_

"_What? You said—you told her—LET GO!"_

_I'm kicking and screaming now. Sora refuses to let go. I try to summon my Keyblades, but I can't. I feel tears in my eyes, tears of anger, frustration, longing… I have to see her, I have to see her right now, if I don't see her, I'll forget her again, I can't lose her again, I refuse to lose her again, if this little wannabe messiah doesn't let go of me right now—_

"_Roxas!"_

0=0=0=0=0=0

"Roxas! Roxas, wake up!"

Roxas shot up in bed. "Xion!"

Xion placed her hand on his chest. "It's okay, it's okay, it's okay… it was just a dream, I'm right here…"

Roxas collected himself and looked around his room. It had no windows, and he couldn't see his own hand, let alone Xion beside him. He made himself glow without really thinking about it, revealing Xion and himself. Control of light had it benefits. When he saw her, he had to resist the urge to latch onto her like a toddler to their mother. Instead, he held her wrist, gripping it tight, as if making sure she was really there. She placed her own hand on top of his.

He looked her right in the eyes, memorizing every detail of her face. "You're okay?"

Xion stroked his arm, calming him. "Yes, I'm perfectly fine."

"Then why are you in my room?"

She sighed. "I heard you from my room. You were screaming and rolling all over the bed."

"Oh…" Roxas rubbed his eyes "I'm sorry. I was having this really bad nightmare."

Xion climbed onto the bed. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Roxas nodded. "I was trying to get to you, but Sora said I wasn't allowed to see you, and he wouldn't let go of me…"

Xion hugged him. "Don't worry. Sora would never keep you from me like that, and besides, I'm right here. Nightmares are just dreams."

"Do you have nightmares?"

"All the time. Usually, it's one of my bad memories, but sometimes I'm fading away, or falling into darkness…" Xion intertwined her fingers with Roxas'. "It can be scary, but it's okay. Dreams can't hurt you."

"I've been having nightmares ever since I first saw you again…in all of them, I know I'm looking for _you, _but I can't remember your name, and there's this terrible empty feeling in my…whatever I have that passes for a heart…" Roxas shook his head. "I'm usually crying in some way…I feel like such a baby…"

"Don't feel that way. It's okay. We all have nightmares."

Roxas laid back down. "I hate this place."

"So do I. But Sora's going to get us out of here."

"Does he even know how?"

"Not yet, but he'll figure it out. He promised."

"I can get us out of here."

"No, you can't. Just trust Sora. It'll be okay."

He kept gripping Xion's hand like his life depended on it. "Can I ask you a question that might make you a bit… uncomfortable?"

Xion smiled. "Something embarrassing?"

"No, I mean… it might stir up some bad memories."

The smile vanished as quickly as it had come. "Go ahead. I need to face my memories anyway."

Roxas was silent for a moment. "…Can you tell me why you sacrificed yourself?"

Xion closed her eyes. "You remember that now?"

"I remember holding you in my arms as you faded away, you telling me to free Kingdom Hearts and holding that seashell…actually, I still have it…" Roxas pulled a small seashell out of his pocket. "I held onto it, even though I didn't know why. It felt important…anyway, I don't remember why you were fading away, but I get the feeling you were doing it voluntarily."

Xion took a deep breath. "I was. I gave myself to Sora so that he could wake up. That's why you forgot about me—I was made of his memories, and when they joined him, all the memories connected to me disappeared. I gave you that seashell so that you wouldn't become paralyzed by the fear of forgetting me and never do what you needed to do."

"I thought Xemnas made me forget you…"

"Really, he was just getting rid of the leftovers. The one guy I actually wanted to forget about me, and he makes everyone else forget…"

Roxas balled his fists. "When I get out of here, he's going to get it."

Xion sighed. "I know you want to kill him, but you need to be careful. Don't do something stupid, okay?"

"Okay." After a moment, something suddenly popped into Roxas' mind. "You say you gave yourself to Sora?"

"Yeah, that's why I'm in his heart now."

"Sora…" He got up. "I need to talk to someone."

Xion held his arm. "Namine and Ventus are asleep."

"Not them. Someone else. You can come with me if you want."

Xion considered this, then stood up and nodded. Roxas walked with her outside and stood in front of the _DO NOT OPEN _door. The night was already dark, but the door seemed to somehow emanate pure, dark energy. It hadn't been doing that last night. Was whatever was in there getting more powerful? Roxas didn't care. He had been denied answers about everything for too long, and he wasn't about to deny them to himself.

When Xion realized what he was doing, she took a step towards him. "Roxas, no. That room is bad."

Roxas raised his hand, signaling her to stop. "I know. I'm not going to open it. I'm going to talk to whoever's inside."

"I'm telling you, this is a bad idea."

"I know what I'm doing."

Without waiting for another rebuttal from Xion, he stuck his hand on the door again. It only took a second for the pain to come. It felt like something was worming its way into his mind, getting deeper and deeper. He felt a jolt of pain and grabbed his head. It hurt, but he was determined to bear it for Xion.

After a few more seconds, the voice came. _I see you have found the truth._

Roxas couldn't really describe it. All he could tell was the voice felt distorted and sinister and just plain _wrong._ Still, he didn't care. "Yeah, she told me about Sora."

_Now, use those brains of yours. Do you really think she would just give up her life for some kid she barely knew?_

Roxas gritted his teeth from the worsening pain. "I'm sure it was a tough decision."

_You don't just throw your life away. Not without incentive, anyway._

"Maybe waking him up was enough incentive."

_Really? _The voice changed to perfectly mimic Xion's voice. _'Oh, looks like Sora forgot his alarm clock. Better wake him up by giving up everything I know and being forgotten forever.' Yeah, no._

The voice change jarred Roxas a bit, but he let go of it for now. "It was probably more complicated than that."

_That's not the point. The point is this. She was in a group that constantly used her as a puppet for almost a year. Don't you think she'd want to escape that? And don't you think a certain someone could take advantage of that?_

"But—but how—"

Before he could finish, Roxas felt something forcibly pull him away from the door. He spun around and found himself staring at Xion, who looked terrified.

Xion shook him a bit. "Roxas. Can you hear me?"

Roxas gasped. "I…yes, I can, but—"

"I kept shaking you and shaking you, but you didn't notice! It was like you were in a trance!"

"I was listening to the person inside that room. He was about to tell me something important." Roxas started to move toward the door again. "I have to—"

That's when he found himself staring straight at a Keyblade blocking his path.

0=0=0=0=0=0

_*BZZT*_

"_Let's go home. If you come back voluntarily, Saix will let all of this drop. He has to."_

_She just keeps giving me that sad look._

"_I don't care what he said to you. I'll be there. Me and Axel will make sure—"_

_As I reach out, she takes a step back. "I really can't."_

_I'm not sure what to do. "Why not? Come on!" She starts to run off again, but I grab her hand. "Wait!"_

_I hear the distinct sound of a Keyblade summoning._

_Is she…_

…_threatening me?_

…_Why?_

_Is this…my fault?_

_*BZZT*_

0=0=0=0=0=0

"Please," Xion said, keeping the Keyblade pressed to Roxas' chest. "Go to your room. Go back to sleep."

"…Xion…"

She was choking up. "Roxas, _now."_

"…Okay." Roxas stepped back slowly, keeping his arms in the air. "If that's what you want…then I'll do it."

"Then do it. Before…" Xion grunted and jerked her head away, and a single tear hit the wood. "…Before I can't fight it anymore."

Roxas kept stepping back. "Can't fight what?"

"_GO!" s_he screamed. "Before I _hurt you!"_

Well, there was some motive. Roxas ran to his room, locking the door behind him. He realized he was hyperventilating a bit, and took a moment to calm down, sliding down the doorframe and sitting down on the floor. He put his hands in his head. What was wrong with Xion? Was she in pain? It had sounded almost like something was controlling her. And what about what the voice had said? How could Sora have taken advantage of Xion if he was asleep? Was this why she was acting so crazy now?

In any case, Roxas was completely exhausted from the interaction. He could barely think at all, let alone ponder Xion's mental health and the cryptic words of the person in that room. As he crawled back into bed and threw the blanket over his head, he could feel tears running down his face.

_This is my fault, _was his last thought.

0=0=0=0=0=0

Sora did not consider reading through Riku's poorly written notes to be a fun activity at all. But alas, he had to learn everything that Riku did if he was going to even start to understand the whole time travel thing. It was feeling more and more poorly thought out by the minute, but as usual, Sora choose to trudge on. For the worlds and whatnot. For Xion.

He heard the door creak open and turned around. Lea strolled into the library, carrying some scrap paper, a pen and two bars of sea-salt ice cream. He sat down next to where Sora was sitting and handed him a bar. "For Xion," he said.

Sora smiled and took a bite out of the ice cream. "This is good."

"Why do you think I eat it all the time?" Lea clasped his hands together. "Okay, we got Master Yen Sid, and Donald is working on contacting Merlin. That's the easy part." He tapped the pen against the table repeatedly. "You're _sure _you want Ansem's apprentices?"

"I don't. I need them."

"If you say so." He took one of the papers and wrote the word _Apprentices _along the top, then drew four circles, writing the names of all of the former apprentices other than Braig and Xehanort. "Ienzo and Aeleus are the most stable, and also most likely to help us. I say we grab them first."

Sora nodded. "Sounds like a plan to me."

Lea laughed. "If that sounds like a plan to you, then I at least know you're eager…'grab them' isn't a plan. It's the 'how to' part that's the plan."

Sora scrunched his face in thought. "…I suppose we could just go looking for them."

"And what do we do when we find them?"

"Recruit them."

"Oh, Kingdom Hearts, you really _are _Roxas' Somebody…" Lea facepalmed. "_How?"_

Sora shrugged. "Give them what they want."

"And what do they want?"

"I guess we'll find out when we meet them."

Lea's face hit the table. "Sora. Planning. Apparently, antonyms."

"Look, if you have a better idea, I have ears."

"…Fair. We'll do it your way, then. I have one question, though. It's been bugging me." Lea turned to Sora with a serious expression on his face. "The girl…Xion, I mean…is she okay in there?"

Sora held his chest, as he usually did when thinking about his overcrowded heart. "Well, she wasn't looking too good when I went in there, but she seems to be doing better since I promised to get her out of there."

Lea hesitated. "…Roxas?"

"He's perfectly fine, as far as I can tell."

"Are they together?"

Sora thought about this. "…They are now."

Lea nodded and stood up. "Good enough for me. Come on. We have some apprentices to find."

0=0=0=0=0=0

**The Evil Door is getting stronger. Our heroes head off to find the apprentices. Where will all this lead? *cheesy 'woo' noises* :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. If I wanted great feedback on my work, I definitely choose the right fandom to write for—you guys are the absolute best. Always remember, no matter what your favorite or least favorite game in the series is, no matter what pairing is your OTP, no matter which characters you hate or love, you are still a KH fan, and I still love you. We are one! :D**

**Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for chapter eight…**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello, my readers, and welcome to chapter eight! I hope you're all enjoying the summer so far. I certainly have been. I got the Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD Remix for my birthday, and I'm playing through the Final Mix of KH2 at the moment. It is AWESOME. :D It's giving me lots of little ideas, like maybe writing Secret Reports once the main story is complete. Would you be interested in those? Do answer in the reviews.**

**And with that, let's get to chapter eight, where things seem too easy for our hero…**

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**Unforgettable**

**Chapter VIII**

**The Darkness Grows**

0=0=0=0=0=0

"_I'm sorry I threatened you last night."_

"_It's okay. It was my fault."_

"…_No, it wasn't. Don't blame yourself."_

"_I'm the one who did exactly what you told me not to do."_

"_That…wasn't what it was about. I got emotional, and it started feeling like everything was closing in on me…"_

"…_Whoever made you like this is going to—"_

"_No, you don't get it. No one did this to me. I feel sick. Like…on the inside. In my head."_

"_In your heart?"_

"…_I don't have one…"_

"_I thought that too, until I realized this morning how bad you must be feeling…and how bad I would feel if I lost you again…"_

0=0=0=0=0=0

The Radiant Gardens Public Library was dim late at night. Many questioned why it was even still open this late, since it didn't have nearly enough lights to have reading light for the whole building, and the moonlight streaming out of the skylight above did little to alleviate the situation. Sora figured that it might attract the Heartless as well, and kept his Keyblade out. But it hadn't come yet, and this library was the best place to find the bookworm he was looking for.

Interestingly enough, finding Ienzo's whereabouts had been almost too easy. Everyone he talked to might as well have been screaming his location into the heavens. It was almost like he _wanted _to be found. Sora was wary about this at first, but he decided to take it in stride—he was finally catching a break.

He found Ienzo just quietly reading in one of the brighter corners of the library. He was wearing a simple black sweater and black jeans, and reading a book with no title_. _The moment he laid eyes the man, Sora 'too-easy' senses heightened. In his experience, traps were everywhere. Yet, he still approached. He never had been one to stress over hypotheticals, especially when his friends were counting on him.

Sora got up behind Ienzo and tapped him on the shoulder. Then he drew back and raised his Keyblade, just in case.

Ienzo didn't even look up. "I suppose you've come to kill me. A shame. I only just started perusing the library here."

Sora didn't let his guard down. "Actually, I need your help."

Ienzo snorted. "That was quick. Do you always approach random people in libraries and demand help?"

"I'll have you know this is a special case."

"Hmm." Ienzo got up. "Do tell."

Sora lowered the Keyblade a bit, trying not to scare Ienzo off. "I need a research team, and I want you to be a part of it."

Ienzo stared up into the skylight. "Well, I have done that before. I suppose I could do it again, if I had a reason. What are you researching?"

"Time. I need to time travel."

"Time travel?" Ienzo made a small laugh. "I do believe someone I used to know also wanted to travel through time. I also believe he is now your sworn enemy. The irony is deep."

"How do you know so much about me?"

"A lot of reading, a lot of time and a lot of acquaintances." Ienzo walked over to Sora. "Fine."

Sora raised his eyebrow. "That's it? I'm finding everything to be a bit too easy, to be honest."

Ienzo nodded. "I know. But now that I have a heart, I need a new reason to live. You'll have to trust me."

Sora was still suspicious, but this was his best shot. He nodded and waved his hand. "Come on. I'll take you to my ship and—"

A swarm of Shadows and Dusks appeared out of nowhere and surrounded the two. There were at least twenty of each. Sora blinked—Heartless _and _Nobodies, working together? That was unheard of. What was going on now?

Ienzo gave Sora a look. "Did you see that coming?"

"No I didn't…"

One of the Heartless lunged at Ienzo, but the man simply dodgerolled out of the way, as if he had done this before. Then he summoned a lexicon out of thin air—it surprised Sora that he could still do that, though of course Axel could still summon his chakrams. Ienzo knocked the Shadow away with a swift blow to the head and got up, opening the lexicon as he did. He raised his arm in the air and called down several balls of dark flame, blasting multiple Heartless and Dusks at once.

Sora grinned. "You're pretty helpful."

"I should hope so. I don't want to get rusty."

Sora swung his Keybalde, performing the usual moves that always proved so effective. After so long, even battle had become routine, especially these basic enemies that only required some basic combo work to take down. A swarm, of course, was always exciting, no matter how weak the opponents were. He briefly wondered why Ienzo would attract a horde of both Heartless and Nobodies, but his thoughts were interrupted by a Shadow clawing him in the back. He stabbed at it and kept going, saving questions for later.

The enemies kept coming, and it seemed to be getting smarter. The Dusks were acting like commanders, pointing to send the Shadows at their target. More and more of them came at Sora and Ienzo, and both were becoming overwhelmed. Sora could feel something rising in him, a surge of power. He recognized this feeling. He leaped into the air. "Give me strength!"

Light burst out from Sora, a ball of energy that seemed to stop time. He felt his clothes changing, and more importantly, a second Keyblade forming in his hands. When he hit the ground again, he was in a whole new form, a Drive Form.

But this was one he did not recognize. His clothes were now purple and black, and the emotions it brought out were those of raw power. Both of his Keyblades were floating in midair. He didn't even identify the Keyblade that was now floating to his left—it looked suspiciously like the Kingdom Key, but it was jet black up to the blade edge, which looked like a torn page of a book. There were words in an unrecognizable old language written all over the edge. The Keychain was the same as the symbol on Ienzo's lexicon.

Names came to him, as they always did. The new form he had taken called itself Vengeance Form. The Keyblade was known as Illusion. Dark themes for weapons of light, but then, Oblivion had a similar motif, and it was one of the most powerful Keyblades. Sora decided there was nothing to fear.

He had been weakened by the battle, but in the new form, this only seemed to give him strength. He stood still and swung the Keyblades around with his mind, knocking out several Dusks and Shadows in one shot. The Dusks were gone, and without leaders, the Heartless descended into chaos, attacking wildly. Sora simply walked around with a slow pace and stabbed at the Heartless with the Keyblades. They were completely helpless.

After a minute, the form ran out of energy, and Sora returned to his normal self. He got back into battle position, only to find that the swarm had stopped.

He unsummoned the Keyblade. "What was that?"

Ienzo stood next to him, unimpressed. "Your power. What else?"

Sora closed his eyes. "It felt…weird. Eerie."

"You can question our luck later." Ienzo walked ahead of him. "Where is this ship you speak of?"

0=0=0=0=0=0

Roxas sat in his room, thinking. He had done a lot of thinking lately. In this place, there wasn't much to do but think. And he had many things to think about.

His first priority, he decided, was figuring out the source of Xion's pain. It had to be more than depression—he had seen Xion depressed, and this wasn't what it looked like. So why did Namine and Ventus keep insisting that was all it was?

_They're hiding something._

Roxas jumped. The voice could talk to him without physical contact now? He shook his head. "Go away."

_Why do you want that?_

"You made her cry. I have nothing to say to you."

_What? Me? What in the worlds did I have to do with it? _A twinge of pain hit Roxas, as if he had just been slapped upside the head. _Think a bit. Wasn't that you?_

Roxas closed his eyes. "She said—"

_Girls always say things like that to make boys feel better, idiot. Didn't you know? They're nice that way._

Roxas clenched his teeth. "If you want my favor, this isn't the way to get it."

_Isn't it? _A wave of calm washed over Roxas, and the voice took on a soothing sound. _I'm telling you the truth. Isn't the truth what you want?_

Roxas couldn't help but find himself thinking about all the times people had lied to him, even Xion. He was indeed sick of it. But he also realized what the voice was trying to do, and fought off the calm feelings as best he could. "Stop messing with my head," he said in a low voice.

_Hey, I'm just helping you out here. Do you want high blood pressure? I don't think so._

Roxas could feel the sensation of calm getting stronger. At this point, it wasn't so much a calm feeling as a dazed feeling. He forced himself to stand up. "You're trying…to manipulate me…"

_I just told you, I'm telling you the truth. What you want to do with the truth is your decision._

"How do I know…"

_Because I know everything. I've been here for a long, long time._

Roxas couldn't fight it anymore. His legs gave out, and he fell to the ground, lying down on his back. He was still conscious, but he was too tired to move. "Then…what is the truth?"

_Now we're talking. Think on this. Say you've got a box of sea-salt ice cream. You love that stuff, right?_

Roxas could actually taste it in his mouth. "Uh-huh."

_Now, say you're about to have some with your precious Xion when—gasp! It's all gone!_

An actual gasp came from Roxas' mouth, and the taste of the ice cream vanished.

_Now, Xion tells you—_he mimicked Xion's voice again. _'Hey, I saw Namine and Ventus eating ice cream earlier. I think it was ours.' Pretty cruel, right?_

Anger filled Roxas' veins. Why was he being so stimulated by this stupid story he was being told? He didn't know, but he didn't have the energy to fight it. "Yeah."

_So you go to Namine and Ventus, and they say—_he copied both voices at once, as if they were speaking at the same time. _'What are you talking about? We never ate ice cream. You know Xion, it's insane. It hates us and wants you to kill us.'_

Even more anger fueled Roxas, even though he knew Namine and Ventus would never say something like that.

_Now, tell me. Who would you trust?_

Roxas had a moment of awareness, and kicked his legs out. "That's…completely different…"

_How so? 'Oh, Xion is insane. She just wants to curl up in a ball and fade away. Just accept it.' Do you really think that's the truth?_

"I hate you…"

_Oh, you'll learn to love me soon enough. Now, why don't you see Xion?_

"I would do that if—"

For a moment, Roxas' vision blurred, and he felt like he was falling. When his sight cleared, he could see Xion sitting next to him, looking into his eyes with a terrified expression.

Xion was in his face almost instantly. "Roxas! Are you okay?"

Roxas shot up, a burst of adrenaline forcing him up. "I-I-I—what happened—why are you—"

"Shhh, shhh…" Xion put her finger on his lips. "It's okay. You passed out. I heard you hit the ground."

Roxas rubbed his head. "How long was I out?"

"About ten seconds."

"Really? Feels like so much longer?"

"Were you dreaming? I read that time feels slower in your dreams."

"I think…" Roxas shook his head. "I don't remember anything…I was just sitting there, and all of a sudden, I was on the floor, and I felt weird…"

Xion held his cheek. "It's okay if you don't remember. I don't really remember the moments just before my fainting fits, either."

Without warning, fear filled Roxas, and he started hyperventilating. "I'm forgetting, aren't I, no, no, no…"

"It's okay…" Xion held Roxas's hand tight. "You're not forgetting anything important."

"How…how would…" Roxas pulled Xion into a hug. "I'm sorry…I can't lose you again…"

"You won't. I promise."

"I'm just a burden, you have to come rushing to help me no matter how you're feeling…"

"No, you're not a burden." Xion helped him stand up. "Distracting me from bad thoughts is okay in my book."

Roxas let a small smile come to his lips. "Maybe I should pass out more often, then."

Xion laughed. "You're joking again?"

Roxas' smile got bigger at the sound of Xion's laughter."Apparently."

"Good. You need to laugh. It's good for—"

The door burst open, and Ventus stepped into the room. Roxas couldn't help but stare at his double with a look of absolute hatred. Who did he think he was, barging in without knocking and ruining every little moment he had with Xion? He was just like Saix. At least, that's how Roxas felt.

Ventus waved them over. "Come on. Namine says she saw Heartless on the beach."

0=0=0=0=0=0

**Dun-dun-dun! :)**

**At this point, I'm thinking about mentioning RokuShi in the summary, or at least making it a pairing in the character section, just to be completely honest. XD I love this pairing too much. My portrayal of it here is a bit unique for me, though—I usually write Xion as the one who needs most of the support and comfort, but here it's Roxas. You'd think the insanity would be an issue for Xion, but there you go. Personally, I see KH3 Roxas as being an angry, somewhat cold Batman-like figure on the outside and a terrified, clingy woobie in need of a hug on the inside, and he tends to show that inside to Xion most often. It's an interesting dynamic to write.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading, and be sure to tune in next time for chapter nine of Unforgettable!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Welcome, my friends, to chapter nine. I just realized that we haven't even been through a third of the story yet, and this is already pushing at the length of Invader. The actual KH3 story is going to be even longer. What have I gotten myself into? :P**

**Anyway, let's get going!**

0=0=0=0=0=0

**Unforgettable**

**Chapter IX**

**Fury**

0=0=0=0=0=0

"_My former colleges are not as scattered as you seem to think."_

"_Then where are they?"_

"_Two in Olympus, two already, shall we say, in rivaling employment."_

"_And how do you know this, exactly?"_

"_Well, I'm sure you keep up with the actions of old friends."_

"_Friends? Were they your friends?"_

"_In a way. In a way…"_

0=0=0=0=0=0

There were several words that came to Xion's mind at the scene she was witnessing, but the most prominent one was _infestation._

Shadows, at least two dozen of them, were all over the beach, making a mess of the local flora and fauna. To make things worse, they were moving in a way Xion had never seen—in a single wave, like army ants. It was terrifying, and after defeating so many herself, she was surprised to be feeling such an emotion from these basic opponents.

She retreated back into the jungle, where Roxas and Ventus were standing by, Keyblades drawn. "Namine sure wasn't kidding. What do we do?"

Ventus twirled his Keyblade in his hand. "Well, fight them off. What else can we do?"

Xion tugged on her collar. "Uh, maybe if we leave them alone, they'll go away on their own…"

Roxas raised his eyebrow. "Heartless don't work that way. You know that."

Xion waved her hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, it was a stupid thought…I think I'll sit this one out…"

"You okay?"

"No!"

Roxas stepped back a bit. It took a second for Xion to register her outburst. She cringed. "Sorry," she muttered. "It's just…I don't feel…right. You know?"

Roxas walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. You can stay if you want."

Xion scratched the back of her neck. "Well, I don't want to be useless…"

Ventus walked over. "Are you afraid of them?"

Xion blushed. "Yeah…they're swarming…"

"No need for shame, then." He pointed to a bush. "If you really want to help, you could use magic to attack from a safe distance."

Xion smiled. "That's a great idea, Ven!"

"Hey, no problem."

As Xion ran over to the indicated bush, she caught sight of Roxas' face. He was staring at Ventus with a look of…jealousy? But he had never acted that way before. Actually, he had been acting really spiteful towards Ventus all day. What was going on in his head?

_I can show you what he's feeling._

At the sound of the Voice (she had no other name for it), Xion shut her eyes. "No," she whispered, trying not to be heard by her companions. "Get out of my head."

_But Puppet, don't you want to know why your friend is suddenly so—_

"That's not my name," Xion choked out. Somehow, she managed to make the whimper sound defiant. "I'm Xion. I'm not a puppet…"

_Okay. I get it. _A dazed, almost sleepy feeling seized her. _It's probably not fun being a disposable object, on top of not existing._

"I'm not!" She managed to fight off the feeling with the anger filling her. "Are you trying to make me mad?"

_Only for your own good. I want to help you, Puppet. Part of that is being honest with you._

"But I'm not a puppet…"

_Don't lie to yourself. It's unpleasant, but it's true. The sooner you accept it, the happier you'll be._

Xion's vision got blurry, like she was about to pass out. She couldn't see her own hand, let alone Roxas or Ventus. "Shut…up…"

_But don't you want to know what Roxas is feeling? Why he hates Ven so much?_

She tried to say no, but she couldn't, as if the word itself was catching in her throat. "Wha…what did you do to me…"

_Pointed you in the right direction._

"I…would prefer if you…" Xion clutched her throat, trying to get the words to come out. "Please…I want you to…gah…"

_Nice try. Come on, just one little word. Yes or yes question here._

Xion was getting overwhelmed. She shut her eyes tight, trying to keep back tears. "Fine, fine, fine, just do it, get it over with, make it stop…"

_Good. Time for you to see the truth._

Xion's eyes burned, like someone had sprinkled salt in them. She yelped and grabbed them, rubbing as hard as she could. When she opened them again, she wasn't hiding in the bush, but was instead on the beach, staring down the Heartless swarm. She noticed she was holding Oathkeeper and Oblivion, and realized that she was seeing through Roxas' eyes. She wasn't afraid of the Heartless anymore—actually, she felt the flame of berserker rage deep in her core.

She watched as Roxas leapt toward the Shadows, spinning his Keyblades madly. He was screaming an animal-like cry of anger, and it felt as though it were coming out of Xion's lungs. She barely had time to catch her breath on her end before he slammed into the swarm, taking out five Heartless in two swings. Then he jumped back, actually using one of the Heartless like a launch pad, and shot off multiple fire spells, using his dual Keyblades like Xigbar's arrowguns. Xion would have been impressed by this display of force, if she wasn't too focused on the fact that her own energy was draining.

The remaining Heartless had become scattered. Roxas did not lose his ferocity for a second, plunging Oathkeeper into one of the enemies as he came down from the sky. He threw Oblivion into another one, and the Keyblade bounced between a few Shadows before coming back to him. For the finale, he raised his Keyblades in the air and brought down huge pillars of light, hitting the remaining Heartless square on and destroying them instantly.

As Roxas panted, Xion found herself panting with him. She wanted him to stop, to give her a chance to recover, but she couldn't cry out, or even speak at all. Without knowing what harm he was doing to her, Roxas spun around and pointed at Ventus. "Why didn't Xion help?"

Ventus just whistled. "Maybe because you didn't need the help?"

"Yeah, she would do it anyway."

Xion found unwanted anger towards Ventus rising in her. She tried to breath deep breaths, but since Roxas wasn't doing so, she had trouble. She had a blaring headache and felt sick to her stomach. The strange thing was that she got the sense that the headache and nausea were from Roxas, not from her exhaustion. How could he bear it?

Ventus sighed. "What, you think I did something to her?"

"You read my mind."

"And why would I do that?"

"I…I…" The headache got worse. "I don't know, but I know it's true!"

"Roxas, you're being ridiculous."

"No, you're being dishonest."

_This is it, Puppet._

"Roxas, please just calm down."

_This is his anger._

"I'm going to see Xion right now, and if you try to stop me, you won't like what happens to you!"

_His hatred._

"I have no reason to stop you. I'm going to see her myself."

_His FURY._

"No. Only I see her. _The one she can trust._"

_Can you feel it, Puppet?_

Xion hit her head on the ground to snap back to herself. _"STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT!"_

Roxas and Ventus both dropped their Keyblades and ran toward the bush. Roxas bent down and held Xion in his arms, and she stared up at him, tears making him hard to see. "Please," she murmured, trying desperately to get air into her lungs again. "Don't fight…it hurts…a lot…please…"

Roxas' eyes went wide with horror. "I…hurt you?"

"…Don't blame yourself…" Xion almost reached for his face, but realized that would probably bring back memories he didn't want and decided to hold his arm instead. "It's not your fault, not really…but it's not Ven's fault, either, okay?"

Roxas closed his eyes. "I'm so sorry…"

"It's okay. I know you're mad at him. But you have to fight that feeling, because it's not real. Someone's manipulating you. Both of us. We can't give in. Promise me you'll try not to hate Ven."

After a moment, Roxas nodded. "I promise."

Ventus waited a moment to make sure the moment was really over, then crouched down next to Xion. "Can you tell us what happened?"

"…I…what happened was…" Xion found that she couldn't get the words out, no matter how hard she tried. "Actually…I can't."

Ventus cursed under his breath, then squeezed Xion's free hand. "Want to go home?"

"Yes, please…" Her eyesight went black around the edges. "May I sleep, please?"

Roxas looked frightened for a second, and he tightened his grip on Xion, but Ventus raised his hand to signal him to relax. "Yes you may," he answered, his voice sounding faint, filtered by the creeping unconsciousness.

"Thank you," Xion whispered before she became enveloped by darkness.

0=0=0=0=0=0

One would think that a Gummi Ship owned by a king would be truly massive in size. However, the ship owned by King Mickey was the exact opposite—tiny to the point where housing two people—as it was now—was cramped. Both crewmembers had to sleep in sleeping bags laid out on the floor. But this was perfectly acceptable living conditions for Riku. After all, he had dealt with much, much worse.

The silver-haired boy sat in the copilot's seat, his hands locked behind his head, looking out towards the stars. Even after all this time, it still amazed him how many there were. Every single one had its own world to explore. Of course, he had learned his lesson about rushing off to 'see the worlds', but he couldn't help but feel a sense of childlike wonder at it all. Maybe being reunited with Sora was bringing all his good memories back to him.

Even the ones that the universe itself thought lost.

He heard a familiar voice behind him. "You okay, Riku?"

Riku nodded at the mouse. "Yeah, I'm just thinking."

Mickey sat down in the pilot's seat. "Where to now?"

Riku sighed. "I don't know. I think the name of the person we're looking for is Aqua. Does that sound familiar?"

Mickey closed his eyes. "Yup."

"Friend of yours?"

"A good friend. But last I heard, she was trapped in the Realm of Darkness."

Riku turned his chair to face Mickey. "The same one we were trapped in after Sora closed the door to darkness?"

Mickey nodded. "That's the one."

"Well, then, I guess we get in the same way we did the first time."

Mickey shook his head. "That wouldn't work. Sora sealed that door, remember?"

"Good point."

"You're not going to like hearing this, but our best bet is probably Dark Corridors."

Riku's heart sank. "That's a place…I don't want to go again."

"I know. I'm not too eager myself. I wouldn't suggest it if there was another way."

"I understand…"

Mickey patted him on the shoulder—an impressive feat for the short mouse. "Don't worry, Riku. No matter how dark it gets, you'll always find the light again."

Riku made a small smile. "I really wish I was that optimistic."

"You can be. You just gotta let the light take you."

"If you say so." He looked back out towards the stars. "Let's head to Twilight Town. Should jog my memory…"

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**And that's chapter nine done. I hope I did King Mickey right. He's a hard mouse to write—using a lot of words like 'gotta', 'gonna', etc. I like to think I did well, but I'd like to hear your feedback. I want to make this story better, after all. :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for chapter ten!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Welcome, my beautiful friends, to chapter ten! Milestone! *pops champagne bottle* I think this chapter officially makes Unforgettable longer than Invader in sheer word count, and it definitely makes them equal in chapter count. This story has been quite a ride so far, and I couldn't have done it without you guys! I love you all! *GROUP HUG* :D**

**This one only has Sora's heart, and it's probably the shortest chapter so far, but don't worry—there is plenty of drama to go around! You'll see. The sooner you read, the sooner your questions get answered…**

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**Unforgettable**

**Chapter X**

**Fear**

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"_Well, this town has more bad memories than good."_

"_I know. But we'll find what we're looking for."_

"_If I don't crack first…"_

"_Hey, keep your chin up. We've got this."_

"_I admire optimism in everyone. Mostly because I don't have it myself…"_

0=0=0=0=0=0

"Has she woken up yet?"

"No."

This exchange had been repeating over and over every ten minutes for the last hour. In all honestly, Ventus was starting to find it tedious. But Roxas persisted, pacing around outside the door in between questions. He was outside mostly because Namine had told him that his indoor pacing was making her anxious.

This time around, Roxas stamped his foot on the ground. "When is she going to wake up?"

Ventus sighed and crossed his arms. "How am I supposed to know that? Look, it seems like she went through a lot, she deserves some rest."

"I know, it's just…" Roxas shook his head. "She's had comas before. I don't want…I can't lose her again."

Ventus patted Roxas on the shoulder. "I get how you feel. But if you freak out, you'll only make things worse. For her and everyone else."

"I'm only keeping it together because I know that."

"Good, keep doing that." Ventus gave the shoulder a tight squeeze before letting go. "She's tough. She'll be fine."

"But she hasn't been—" Roxas almost started on a tirade, but stopped himself and took a deep breath. "I'm worried about her because ever since I saw her again, she's been so…I don't even know what to call it. Random? Yeah, that's it."

"She's depressed. She had a depressing life. She'll recover."

Roxas sat down next to the bed, where Xion was lying flat on her back, her mouth hanging slightly open like she wanted to say something. "I really think there's more to it."

"Maybe. Maybe not. I don't know."

Roxas slumped. "For once in my stupid nonexistence, I'd like a straight answer…"

Ventus sighed again and sat down next to Roxas. "If I had one to give, I would. And don't say you don't exist. It's a dumb lie the Organization used to try and drum up sympathy."

"What do you know about the Organization? You were lounging here for their entire reign."

"If you think I was just vacationing around here, then you need a wake-up call."

Roxas shut his eyes. "Sorry, sorry…still hard to fight…but what were you doing, anyway?"

"Well, who do you think gave you your Keyblade?"

"Sora. Obviously."

"Then why could you fight him with it when he had it himself?"

"Huh?"

Ventus got up and moved toward the door. "I'll let you think about that for a bit."

Roxas shook his head and stared at Xion again. "Please wake up soon…"

0=0=0=0=0=0

"_Where am I…"_

_With me._

"…_No, no, no, please, I just want to be with Roxas…"_

_Well, sorry, you'll be stuck with me for a bit._

"_No, no, please let me wake up, please…"_

_When we're done talking._

"_I DON'T WANT TO TALK TO YOU!"_

_Then I'll just have to lecture you._

"_WAKE ME UP, WAKE ME UP, WAKE ME—…"_

_There. Now that I've shut you up, we can have a nice, pleasant discussion…_

0=0=0=0=0=0

_I know what happened to your precious girl._

Roxas stamped his foot on the wet sand of the beach. "Shut up already!"

_You say you want a straight answer, yet when I want to give one to you, you don't want it. How does that make sense?_

"You'll just lie to me, like everyone else lies to me."

_Like Ventus and Namine lie to you? Every hour of the day?_

Roxas shut his eyes tight. "Shut. Up."

_Oh, I see how it is. Do you trust your 'friends' to help you?_

"Shut up. Shut up. Shut up."

_I know how you can make her wake up nice and fast._

Roxas gritted his teeth at the obvious bribe. "What part of 'shut up' do you not understand?"

_If you don't follow my plan, she'll surely disappear, and you'll forget her again. Lost to your mind forever, like a scattered dream…_

"Shut…shut…" Roxas' voice wavered. Now that more memories were coming back, he had one fear, and it consumed him. "…Shut up…"

_It's already starting. What's her name again? I'm having a bit of trouble myself._

"Her name is…it's…" As Roxas tried to remember, his eyes went wider and wider. He could feel panic rising deep in his gut. "No…her name…have to remember, have to remember, no…"

_See? I wouldn't lie to you about something so terrible._

Roxas' resolve broke, and he fell to his knees, clutching his head. "Okay! I believe you! How do I save her?"

_Give me one of your Keyblades. Preferably the one swimming in darkness. I'll handle the rest._

"How do I do that?"

_Slip it under the door. Like paper. Easy enough, right?_

Roxas let his arms down and just sat on the sand with his eyes closed, letting the Voice calm him down. "Okay. But how do I know you aren't trying to trick me?"

_Say, what did that one girl leave by your bedside when you were in a coma yourself? Something nice…_

"She left me…" Roxas realized he couldn't remember whether anyone left anything at all, and screamed. _"NO!"_

_Better run, kid. Whoever she is, she's counting on you…_

Roxas jumped up and ran up the ladder to the various doors. All the while, his brain was screaming at him, telling him he was forgetting something important, something truly dire. He knew this feeling all too well. It had been deceptively peaceful the first time around, but this time, it was the most terrifying feeling he had ever felt.

He was running so fast that he almost didn't notice Ventus standing in front of the forbidden door, looking thoughtful. He shoved his wannabe—_why does he look so much like me_—to the ground with Oblivion. Then he slid the black Keyblade along the ground, sending it right under the door and into the darkness.

Ventus got up, still in complete shock. "What the—"

"Shut up!" Roxas summoned Oathkeeper. "I'm saving her!"

"What—stop it, you're being manipulated, Xion told you this…"

"I was forgetting her again!" Roxas made a flourish with his remaining Keyblade. "I'm seeing her right now!"

Ventus looked like he was trying hard to stay calm. "Roxas. Stop it. _Breathe. _You aren't breathing."

"I am sick and tired of everyone telling me what to do!"

"Roxas—"

Roxas threw Oathkeeper at Ventus, who just barely managed to dodge it. Then he marched to Xion's room, slamming the door behind him.

_Good job. Xion is safe. She'll wake up in a minute…_

When he saw that Xion's eyes were open, Roxas ran to the side of the bed and held her arm. "Xion!"

After a few seconds, Xion turned her head away from Roxas. "Let go of me."

"Huh?" Roxas let go of her arm and stepped back a bit. "You okay?"

Xion turned her head back and stared Roxas in the eye. "I hate you."

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**There, see? Told you there would be plenty of drama to go around. :)**

**I'm loving this story. It is leaps and bounds beyond Stupid Questions just six months ago, and I am amazed at how far I've come. Again, I couldn't have done it without you awesome people! Your boundless support and encouragement has brought me into a new phase of my life. Thank you! *MORE HUGGING* :D**

**Thanks for reading, and tune in next time for the excitement of chapter eleven!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Welcome to chapter eleven! This is another one where all the action is in Sora's heart. I'm posting it now because 1) it gave me trouble for several days, and I'm happy to finally get to do something with it, and 2) HOLY PANCAKE, KINGDOM HEARTS III WAS SHOWN AT E3! That requires a little celebration, and giving you guys another chapter is the best way I know how. :)**

**Fair warning—this story is going to get dark in the following chapters. We're talking RequiemOfKingdomHearts levels of dark. She's still my favorite dark author. :) Enjoy, my friends!**

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**Unforgettable**

**Chapter XI**

**Best Friend**

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"_Yeah, the so-called hero is poking around in Olympus."_

"_Just as we planned. And the project? Is it going well?"_

"_Beautifully. It'll be ready to go soon."_

"_It seems Kingdom Hearts favors us at this hour."_

"_What about Poppet, though? The more memories come back, the harder she is to get rid of again."_

"_Not to worry. The puppet is having problems of its own…"_

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"You…hate me?"

"Yes." Xion just kept lying there, staring at Roxas, piercing into his heart. "You killed me."

"Wha…no. That's not…" Roxas found himself starting to cry. "That's not what you said…"

"I lied to you." Xion sat up in bed. "So that you wouldn't hurt me."

Roxas' jaw dropped, and he stepped back. "Xion, I would never hurt you. No matter what."

"You say that. But do you mean it?"

"Yes!"

The door burst open, and Ventus ran in, Keyblade in hand. Roxas had locked the door behind him, but Xion seemed to take the Keyblade the wrong way. She squirmed and whimpered. "No…don't kill me…"

Ventus blinked and sent his Keyblade off. "I'm not going to hurt you. It's okay." He looked at Roxas. "What happened?"

Roxas summoned Oathkeeper. "You…did this, probably…"

"Roxas—"

Xion hid herself under the blanket. _"_No!"

Both boys looked at Xion. She was cowering under the blanket and shaking uncontrollably. That didn't seem like her at all. Roxas reminded himself that Ventus wasn't his enemy and put Oathkeeper away. "I'm sorry."

"No, you aren't! You're never sorry, you jerk!"

Ventus walked over to the bed, keeping an eye on Roxas. He sat down next to Xion and gently lifted the blanket up. "Hey, it's okay."

Xion pulled the blanket back down. "You're just here to hurt me!"

"No, I'm really not."

"You both think I'm a monster. Which I guess is true."

Roxas' eyes became filled with tears. "No…you're not a monster…"

Dark energy began to form around Xion. "Stop acting like I exist. It just breaks my…no, I don't have a heart…"

"But—but—Namine, help us—"

Roxas turned to see Namine lying face down on the ground, as if she had passed out and fallen out of her chair. He cast Cure on her, but it didn't work. He looked back and forth between her and Xion, who now had so much energy around her that Ventus had to get up.

She came out from under the blanket and stood up. "I'm leaving."

Ventus raised his hand to keep Roxas from running towards her. "I can't let you do that."

"Because I'm a monster, and you just want to kill me?"

"No, because I want to protect you."

"I don't want to be protected by you." Xion summoned her Kingdom Key. "You're both horrible. I hate you."

Ventus summoned his own Keyblade again. "I don't want to do this. Neither does Roxas. Please, listen to us."

"I don't listen to people who lie to me."

Out of nowhere, Xion summoned another Keyblade. Roxas gasped when he saw which it was—Oblivion. He watched in horror as his best friend rose into the air, supported by the dark energy. "Get out of my way," Xion said, her voice echoing now. "Or I'll kill you both."

Roxas stepped back, shaking his head. "No…Xion, no…"

"That isn't my name. My name is Puppet."

Ventus shook Roxas. "Keyblade, now! Roxas!"

Roxas just kept shaking his head. "I'm not…doing this again…"

Ventus kept holding onto him. "Roxas, this can't be the real Xion. It's a trick. Don't give in."

"I'm not doing it again." Roxas elbowed Ventus in the stomach to get free of his grip. "I don't care what she's doing, I'm not killing her again!"

"You don't have to kill her. Just protect yourself!"

"No."

"Roxas, don't be stupid!"

"I'm not going to—"

Xion shot a bolt of darkness at Roxas, apparently done gathering energy. He took the hit, and fell to the ground, writhing in pain. Ventus sighed and cast Cure. "If you won't fight, then run!"

"…No…" Roxas got up and summoned Oathkeeper again. "I have to protect her…even if she won't appreciate the help…"

"Roxas, we're doing this to protect her!"

"I'm not letting you hurt my friend. No matter what."

"This isn't about—"

"_Shut up!"_

0=0=0=0=0=0

_*BZZT*_

_When I get back to the castle, I go straight to Axel. Of course, he's just standing there. "Oh, hey, Roxas," he says with a smile on his face, like nothing happened._

_I'm not taking that. "Where is she?"_

"_Safe."_

_I shake my head and growl at him. "How could you do that to her?"_

"_Do what?"_

_What did I expect? He always acts like this about important things. I just look down. "You didn't have to use force."_

"_Didn't I?" he says in a condescending tone, like a teacher to a slow student._

_I can feel my anger and frustration rising in my gut. "No…of course not! We're supposed to be best friends!"_

"_This isn't about friendship." Before I can respond, he scratches his neck and looks away. "If that's all, I gotta go."_

_If that's all? IF THAT'S ALL?! What is wrong with him?! Dodging my questions every single time, acting like he's always perfect, hurting Xion and then trying to pretend nothing happened…jerk! Traitor! If this isn't about friendship then what the heck is it about?! You know what, I'll just ignore him, see how he likes it._

_No one hurts my best friend. No one._

_*BZZT*_

0=0=0=0=0=0

Roxas charged at Ventus, his Keyblade poised to strike. Ventus ducked under the swing and punched him in the stomach twice, knocking him back. "I don't have time for this, Roxas!"

Roxas gritted his teeth. "I'm going to save her…"

Ventus dropped just as another bolt of darkness shot past him. "She's trying to kill us right now!"

"She's…not…herself…"

"Which is why I'm fighting her." Ventus ran to Roxas and raised his foot. "And why I'm putting you out of commission for now."

"No…have to save—"

Ventus slammed his foot on Roxas' head, knocking him out cold. Then he turned around and got into position for a block. "Let's try this again."

Xion just stared at him. "Did you kill him?"

"No. He'll get back up. And contrary to popular belief, I'm not going to kill you either."

Xion looked away from him. "Would you say that if you knew who I really was?"

"I do know. You're Xion. No one else."

"No. I'm Puppet."

Ventus got out of guard position, his hopes for talking Xion down rising. "You sound like you don't like that name very much."

"No. I hate it. But it's my name."

"Your name is Xion."

"But…he says my name is Puppet…"

Ventus raised his eyebrow. "He? Can you hear a voice?"

After a moment, Xion raised her hand, and dark tendrils rose out of the ground and moved to wrap around Ventus. "I'm not telling _you _anything," she said.

Ventus rolled out of the way just in time and got back into combat position. "And for a second, I had hope…"

He charged at Xion, forcing her into a defensive pose. Just before the Keyblades could clash, he slid along the floor underneath her, jumped up and slashed at her back. Xion yelped and melted into the floor, sliding around like a Shadow. Her circle of darkness went right underneath Ventus, and he jumped away just as new tendrils tried to grab him. Xion tried this a few times before coming back up and releasing a massive shockwave, which Ventus had a little difficulty jumping over.

She swung Oblivion in a wide sweep, sending a literal wave of darkness out. This hit Ventus square on. Xion loomed over him. "Is that all you've got?"

"Don't bet on it." Ventus grabbed her leg and pulled her down, giving him a chance to stun her with a quick, sharp slap in the wrist. She drew back, too focused on the burst of pain that was now moving up her arm to pay attention as Ventus got up and charged her again. In her dazed state, Ventus was almost able to take her out with basic combo work.

Just before Ventus could deal the finishing blow, Xion jumped back again and brought her Keyblades together, shooting a massive beam of energy at him. He recognized this attack, but he hadn't performed it himself in ten years. All he could do was dodge out of the way and try to ignore the burning sensation that the darkness now permeating the floor was giving him.

He stood on the bed, which the darkness had not yet covered, and gritted his teeth. "Looks like I'm out of options." He raised his Keyblade in the air. "Let's see how you handle this!"

The room seemed to get taller, an insane height. An elevator shot up from the floor, covered in multicolored lights. Ventus jumped into it as it went all the way to the top, opened its door to show the entire island (and the void beyond), and came back down, slamming into Xion with incredible force. The elevator repeated this seven times before finally coming to a stop and disappearing.

Xion flopped onto the ground and rolled a few times. All the darkness rushed back into her body. Ventus took a second to catch his breath, then picked Xion up and put her back in bed, slipping the blanket back over her.

He sat down on the floor. "Yeah," he said, looking into the air as if addressing the room itself. "Ten years of extra practice will do that to you."

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**Before you ask, yes, Ventus did do the thing from the E3 trailers where Sora summons a Disney theme park attraction and uses it as a weapon, and yes, I did choose the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. I'll be using more features shown in the E3 trailers as the story goes on. I would have done it later, but I was inspired. :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading, and KINGDOM HEARTS III KINGDOM HEARTS III KINGDOM HEARTS III (infinite) :D**


	12. Chapter 12

**Welcome, readers, to chapter twelve. This is a bit of a breather chapter, but at the same time, it's a reminder to myself to speed up the plot a bit, especially on Sora's end. Future chapters will get more and more exciting, I promise. :) I hope you enjoy.**

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**Unforgettable**

**Chapter XII**

**For Her**

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"_Why did you do that?"_

"_Because she was trying to kill us. I really don't get what part of this you don't understand."_

"_We could have talked to her…"_

"_I tried that. Didn't work."_

"…_I'm not forgiving you until she wakes up."_

"_Fair enough. But that doesn't mean you can just ignore me like you ignored Axel."_

"_You know about that?"_

"_Like I said, I wasn't lounging around here the whole time."_

0=0=0=0=0=0

Understandably, Sora despised the Underworld. It was dark, it was creepy and it was swarming with Heartless. If he could have gotten away with avoiding the place for the rest of his life, he would have. But at the same time, he supposed it was fitting that he would revisit this place now. After all, it was the home of the lost, and he was trying to save those who were lost.

He wiped his brow, having slain yet another squad of Sergeants. "They're a bit more organized than I remember."

Lea twirled his chakrams in his hands (he was still having trouble summoning the Keyblade). "Makes sense, if they're starting a war."

"Oh yeah, the war." Sora bent down and picked up an item drop. "Don't remind me. Ooh, free potion. Nice."

"Hey, can I level with you for a minute?"

Sora looked up. "Sure."

"It is a war. It won't be a cakewalk. We'll probably lose people—no, I'll say it right, _people will die. _You have to accept that sooner or later."

Sora raised his eyebrow. "Why bring this up now?"

"Because you seem to be trying to pretend it's just another adventure." Lea placed a hand on his shoulder. "But it isn't. Get it memorized. For…for Xion."

Sora sighed and nodded. "Good point. I will."

Lea smiled. "She gave herself to you so you could fight this war, all right? Don't let her down."

"Of course not."

With that, the party moved on, unsure what to expect. They had been searching this place for hours, to no avail. They were all starting to wonder if the whole thing was a scam, an intentional wild goose chase set up by the enemy. Sora didn't like this theory, but it was getting more and more likely by the minute, as they looked everywhere and found nothing. Still, his trademark optimism did not waver for a second. He never did believe in giving up.

And he was spurred on by a feeling swirling in his heart, the feeling that Xion's situation was getting more urgent. He didn't know exactly what was happening to her, but he could feel that something was wrong. He felt anger. Sadness. Pain. It ate at him, urging him to work faster. There was no more time for planning or caution. He had to act now, before the window of opportunity closed.

_Help me._

Sora jumped. Xion hadn't contacted him in a while, another thing that was worrying him. The fact that her first sentence meant for him in days was a plea for help put him on high alert immediately. "Xion?" he whispered.

_You can hear me, right?_

"Yes, I can hear you. What's wrong?"

_I'm trapped._

Sora kept walking, trying to keep this conversation private, so as not to worry Lea. "Where are you?"

_He put me in this really dark and cold place. Everything hurts._

"He? Who's he?"

_I don't know, but he's really mean…he messes with my head…I hate Roxas and Namine and Ventus, and I don't know why, I think it's him…_

"Hey, hey, slow down. You hate Roxas?"

_So much! He's such a jerk! He just wants to kill me!_

Sora cringed and held his temple. "Ow…don't yell in my head, okay?"

_Oh, that hurts? Well, I'm hurting way more right now! You should be glad—…I'm sorry…this is what he's doing to me, I keep getting angry without meaning to…I'm sorry, I'm sorry…_

"It's…" Sora took a moment to recover. "It's okay."

Lea walked over. "You all right, kid?"

"It's Xion, she's not doing good."

"Oh, wonderful."

_Is that Axel?_

Sora held his hand up in a 'hold on' gesture. "Yes, but his name is Lea now."

_Lea…I like Axel better…whatever. Tell him I'll be okay._

"Will you?"

_With your help, I'm sure I will. And I need him to be strong for you. He won't be much help if he's wrapped up in problems he can't solve._

"Okay." He turned to Lea. "She'll be fine."

Lea bit his lip. "You sure?"

"I'll make sure that she's fine."

Lea nodded. "Sounds good to me."

…_Tell him…tell him that I—…_

Sora closed his eyes, trying to listen harder. But there was nothing to listen to. "Xion? _Xion?_"

Lea got closer. "What's going on?"

"I can't hear her anymore. She just cut out like someone hung up a phone."

Lea cursed under his breath. "What now?"

"Well, I guess there's nothing we—"

_Sorry. The pain got really bad for a second there._

This sounded like Xion, yet at the same time, it didn't. This voice was harsher, deeper, more masculine. Sora shook his head, chalking it up to the burst of pain she had just mentioned. "That's all right. What were you going to say?"

_Hmm…tell him that I hate him._

Sora blinked. "Wait, what?"

_I hate him. He hurt me. Twice._

"…But you were just saying—"

_Tell him I hate him. NOW._

"Okay, okay…" He looked at Lea again. "Don't panic, but she says she hates you."

Lea considered this. "…I don't trust that statement. You _sure _she's okay?"

"I said she'll _be _okay, not that she _is _okay."

Lea sighed and whispered in Sora's ear, like Riku had. "Xion, hating me is okay. I get it. Hang in there."

For a moment, Xion's normal voice seemed to return. _Thank you, Axel… _But then the harsher voice spoke again. _QUIET._

Sora covered his ears instinctively. For a few terrifying seconds, it felt like his mouth had just been zipped shut. Once he recovered, he smacked his lips a few times to make sure they still worked. "What was that about?"

_Sorry. More pain._

"But I felt like I couldn't talk for a sec…"

_Don't worry about it. Just save me._

"…Okay."

_I'll contact you more often if I can. I have to go. Goodbye._

Then the conversation ended, like a phone call. Sora didn't know what to think. That darker voice didn't seem like Xion at all. Was it a side-effect of her situation, like snapping at him was? In any case, Sora could tell she needed help, and fast.

Lea looked worried. "Still with me?"

"…Yeah…" Sora summoned his Keyblade again and slung it over his shoulders. "Let's keep moving. For her."

0=0=0=0=0=0

Really, the battle had just given Roxas a reason for his worry to intensify.

He sat by Namine's bed. Unlike Xion, she had been coming in and out of consciousness, as if she were simply sleeping poorly. Roxas wasn't nearly as worried about her, but he thought that any clue into Xion's state was worth investigating.

And so, he was glad when Namine's eyes opened slightly again, like a window creaking open. "…Hi, Roxas…"

"Hey. You awake?"

"…Not really…feels like I'm still dreaming…"

"That's okay." Roxas held her arm, trying to be soothing. "Can you tell me what happened?"

Namine closed her eyes again in concentration. "…I don't remember…why can't I remember, I'm supposed to be a memory witch…"

"You're probably just confused."

"Probably…" She looked at the bed on the other side of the room. "Who's that? In the bed?"

"…Xion."

"Xion…who's Xion?"

Roxas gasped. "You…don't remember her?"

"No…" Namine rolled over. "I'm going back to sleep…"

"No, no, this is important." Roxas gripped her arm tighter. "You have to remember her…"

"I don't, Roxas."

"But—but—"

"Stop it, you're giving me a headache."

"Namine, please—"

"Stop, stop, please stop…"

"Namin—"

Something pulled Roxas away from the bed, and he hit the floor. When he looked up, he saw that it was Ventus, who was now sitting next to the bed himself, with a hand on Namine's head. "Shhh, it's okay," he whispered. "Go back to sleep…don't worry about anything, just let the world fade away…"

"Why did he do that?" Namine mumbled.

"I'll deal with him, just go back to sleep."

"…Okay."

After a minute, Ventus let go of Namine and turned to Roxas, a disapproving look on his face. "Outside. Now."

Roxas stood up. "But Namine—"

"_Outside. Now."_

Roxas stumbled his way out the door. He had never heard that tone of voice out of Ventus. It was uncannily similar to how Saix used to talk to him when he was in trouble. Anger rose in him again, but he tried to push it down as best he could. He didn't want this to take a millisecond longer than it had to.

Just as expected, Ventus stormed outside and got in Roxas' face. "What is wrong with you?!"

"I…" Roxas cringed, realizing his mistake. "I'm sorry. That was wrong."

"Yeah, you think? You don't interrogate someone's who barely conscious."

"But…she forgot Xion…"

"Again, barely conscious. She could have been having trouble remembering her own name, for all we know."

"But…"

"No buts, Roxas. No excuses."

Roxas shook his head "I'm not trying to make excuses. I'm just explaining why I did it. I'm not saying it was right."

Ventus crossed his arms. "Okay, go ahead. Explain yourself."

Roxas sighed. "…I'm scared…if Namine can forget her…then what will happen to my memory?"

Ventus closed his eyes, considering. "…Okay. You need to work on your fears."

Roxas clutched his chest. "I can't lose her again, I just can't…"

"I know. But you're making it worse for everyone. All of us are scared, okay? I'm not going to let you drive Namine and Xion into a panic."

Roxas backed up defensively. "Why would I do that?!"

Ventus raised his hand. "You might do it on accident. Especially if you keep pulling stuff like stressing out Namine when she just wants to sleep."

Roxas looked down at his shoes. "I'm…just a burden, aren't I?"

Ventus held his shoulder. "You're a good person, Roxas. Sora called you a good other for a reason. But you need to learn to calm down."

"How do I do that?"

"Start with mediation."

Roxas snorted. "I'm not suited to meditation."

"I'm serious. It helped me a lot when I was alone for a while. It's like rebooting your mind."

"Isn't the same thing done with sleep?"

"Sleep is more like shutting it down completely, and when you turn it back on, it takes five minutes to get up and running at full capacity again, and by that time you're back to freaking out. Just trust me here."

Roxas scratched the back of his neck. "I still don't think I'm suited for it…"

"It's not easy for anyone at first. When you start out, you're cleaning up all the junk, and all that negativity comes rushing at you. But once you get the hang of it, it's simple and healthy. I'd be willing to teach you."

Roxas took a deep breath. "I just want to remember her…"

Ventus smiled. "Oh, yeah, it also helps your memory."

After a moment, Roxas nodded. "Okay. I'll do it. For Xion…"

0=0=0=0=0=0

**There's chapter twelve. For the record, the idea of Roxas meditating makes me very happy. Which is odd, because I'm terrible at meditating, and I'll have to work off my mother to write it realistically. I have wanted to meditate more, though. Maybe I'm using Roxas as practice? :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading, and keep your eye out for lucky number thirteen!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Here we are at chapter thirteen! And what do you know, it's another chapter without Sora. :P Don't worry, the next chapter will have plenty of Sora. Man, I really should have outlined this better…anywho! Let's get to it!**

0=0=0=0=0=0

**Unforgettable**

**Chapter XIII**

**What Love Feels Like**

0=0=0=0=0=0

"_I'm starting to think we were tricked."_

"_Starting?"_

"_Want to go back?"_

"_This is all we have to go on. You know we scoured the entire coliseum."_

"_Maybe they aren't in the coliseum."_

"_Look, think about it. They were not alive. It makes sense to find them here."_

"_I wasn't alive either, and I've never been down here."_

"…_Better ideas?"_

"_Go back?"_

"_And then?"_

"…_In that case…no."_

0=0=0=0=0=0

For a boy who's entire life had been focused mostly on resentment and buried thoughts and feelings, meditation was surprisingly frustrating.

Roxas rubbed his face and stretched out on the soft sand. "This isn't working."

Ventus looked at him. "Why not?"

Roxas closed his eyes. "…I can't handle an exploration of my inner self. It's like opening the door to the closet, and there's all this useless junk in there, and you have to close the door before you get buried under all of it. Do you know what I mean?"

"I warned you that would happen."

"Yeah…" Roxas sat up and picked up a seashell, flipping it like a coin. "I just didn't know it'd be this bad."

Ventus held him on the shoulder. "You've had a hard life. We've all had hard lives. But you can sort it out. Take it from me."

"Hard life…" Roxas stared at the seashell, which wasn't unlike the seashell Xion had left him. "Was I ever alive?"

"I think so. I think you're still alive."

Roxas sighed. "But we're basically in heaven…or hell, depending on your point of view…"

Ventus shook his head. "You need to stop thinking that way, and so does Xion. This isn't a permanent situation."

Roxas' voice lowered. "You know, I never expected the guy who was alone here for a decade to say that."

Ventus considered this. "…Ten years is a long time to be alone. I'll give you that. But I never lost hope. And do you know something that renewed my hope?"

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Let me guess. Sora. Because he gets all the credit somehow."

"No. You."

Roxas turned. "Huh?"

Ventus smiled. "You were the sign that things were finally in motion again. That my heart's rest was almost done. I'm the one who gave you a small seed of a heart, a seed that grew. And now we're about to be freed. And Sora wouldn't know he had anyone to free if it weren't for you."

Roxas was silent for a long moment. "…You say you gave me a heart?"

"Just a shard of one. Just enough to make you different."

"…Then does Xion have a heart?"

Ventus smiled. "I gave her a shard, too. Through the memories she was absorbing."

Roxas nodded. "Then I'm happy."

"You love her, don't you?"

Roxas blinked. "What?"

"You love Xion."

"Love…" Roxas looked back at the seashell. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you look out for her. You protect her, even from your friends. You work hard to remember her. I'd sure call it love."

"…I guess I do, then…" Something occurred to him. "Do you think she loves me?"

Ventus stared out at the sunset. "Well…do you feel loved by her?"

"What would that feel like?"

Ventus laughed. "You're still naïve, huh?"

"Hey!" Roxas gave Ventus a light punch on the shoulder, smiling. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." Ventus sighed. "Anyway…does she make you feel happy?"

"…Yes. Very happy." Roxas clutched his chest, as if he were being hugged. "Happier than anything."

"Then she loves you."

Roxas stared at the sunset with Ventus. "I'm glad."

"Good to hear. Take everything that makes you happy and hold onto it tight. Especially her, and especially when things get bad like they are now. Okay?"

Roxas smiled. "Okay."

0=0=0=0=0=0

Usually, when Namine awoke, she just moaned a bit, adjusted herself to a more comfortable and less sweat-soaked position and went straight back to sleep. In addition to just not having the energy to get up, she preferred her dreams to the waking world—dreams of a warm, comforting darkness enveloping her. She didn't have to think or see or breathe in these dreams. She could just drift, in perfect harmony with her own unreality.

But this time, she couldn't avoid getting up for real. It was like something was tugging on her, pulling her up. She tried to fight it, but it had invaded her mind. She soon found herself standing up and walking to the bed on the other side of the room, the one with the girl she didn't recognize. Who had Roxas said it was? Puppet? That didn't sound quite right, but Namine couldn't think of a better name, so she stuck with it.

She stared at the girl without knowing why. "Who are you, anyway…"

Puppet stirred. "Who…who's there?"

Namine jumped back, surprised at the sudden awakening. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'll go back to bed, I didn't mean to—"

"No…" Puppet squirmed, as if trying to shake off a grip. "I need to…wake up…"

"Wake up?" Namine stepped closer. "You mean…you aren't awake right now?"

"…No…I'm not…I want to be so bad…"

"Then…how can you hear me?"

The black-haired girl shook harder. "I don't know, just wake me up already…"

"Okay, okay…" Namine bent down and shook her lightly. "Is this helping?"

"…No, no, stop shaking me, you're making it worse…"

"Okay…" Namine stepped back again. "I'm sorry."

Puppet seemed to settle into a position that would only be _more _conductive to sleep. "I hate you…"

Namine gasped. "But…I'm sorry…"

Puppet grunted in what sounded like pain. "Sorry, I'm fighting something inside me right now…please wake me up…"

Namine wasn't sure what to do. She decided to try water. She ran outside. "I'll be right back. Hang in there, okay?"

Without waiting for an answer, she ran to the waterfall. Once she got there, it occurred to her that she didn't have anything to actually carry the water in. She considered carrying it in her mouth, but luckily decided against it. But what else was there to carry it in?

She saw Roxas and Ventus walk by, and an odd idea came to her. She ran to Roxas and tugged the collar of his coat. "Roxas? Roxas? Roxas?"

Roxas turned to her. "Namine? You're awake?"

"I need your Keyblade. Right now."

Roxas raised his eyebrow. "Why?"

Namine was about to explain, but just before she could make a sound, she went into a coughing fit that brought her to her knees. In fact, it took her just to the edge of blacking out. When her vision cleared, she found Roxas and Ventus kneeling down to either side of her. "Hey, you okay?" Ventus asked.

Namine caught her breath. "…Just…give me…the Keyblade…"

Roxas summoned Oathkeeper and held it out to her. "Okay."

Ventus looked him in the eye. "Roxas—"

Namine ripped the Keyblade out of Roxas' hands, held it by the blade and started beating the handle on a rock. The clanging noise made her head hurt, but she didn't care. Ventus grabbed her wrists and made a tight squeeze. "Stop!"

The squeeze forced her to drop the Keyblade. It fell to the ground and vanished in a flash of light. Namine turned to Ventus. "Give it back!"

"Explain what you want to do."

"I need a piece of the handle. I'll drill a hole in it and fill it with water."

Ventus just stared at her for a moment. "…You were going to break it and use it as a bucket."

"Yes!" Namine tried to pull away from him. Her voice was getting more strained. "Give it back now!"

Instead of expressing frustration or gripping her wrists tighter, Ventus simply pulled Namine into a hug, cradling her head. "It's okay. Calm down."

"But…but…"

"But what?"

Namine felt like someone was hitting her head with a sledgehammer. She gritted her teeth. "Puppet needs help…"

Ventus shot Roxas a quick glare and gripped Namine even tighter."Puppet?"

"The other girl…the one with black hair…"

"Do you mean Xion?"

"Xion…" Namine closed her eyes. Tears of pain were springing up now. "Is that…her name?"

"Yes."

"It's…it's pretty…"

"You're not feeling too good, huh?"

It was all Namine could do to not reduce into undignified sobbing from the throbbing in her head. "No…"

"Can you show me where it hurts the most?"

Namine pointed to her forehead. Ventus placed a hand on the spot and whispered, "Comfort." Blue energy flowed from his hand and wrapped around Namine's body. Instantly, the pain subsided. She sighed in relief. "Thank you…"

"It might come back, but if you fall asleep before then, it should be all right. Your welcome." He lifted Namine bridal style. "I'll take you back to your room, and then you can tell me all about Xion. Okay?"

"Okay…" Namine opened her eyes again. "Where did Roxas go?"

Ventus looked up. Roxas had vanished. He sighed. "Roxas, I really want to trust you, I really do…"

0=0=0=0=0=0

Roxas burst into Xion's room and ran to the bedside. At first, he couldn't tell what was wrong—she was still asleep, just as she had been for the last few hours. But when Roxas held her arm, she shifted a bit. "Roxas…?"

Roxas pulled her into a sitting position and sat on the bed next to her. "It's me. Namine said you needed help."

Xion didn't budge. Only her lips moved, making small murmurs. "I can't wake up…"

Roxas' eyes widened. "Is that voice in your head?"

"…I'm not allowed to tell you…" Xion let out a demonic screech, and Roxas had to cover his ears. _"IT HURTS!"_

"Okay, okay…" Roxas snapped his fingers next to her ears. When that didn't work, he lightly tapped her on the arm. "Can you feel this at all?"

Xion seemed lost in her own world. "I don't hate him…stop lying—_GAH!"_

Roxas pulled her close, even though he knew she couldn't feel it. "He's hurting you, isn't he?"

"…I'd rather he keep hurting me…than force me to hurt you…"

She screamed again. Roxas started to panic. "I'm not losing you again!"

"You won't…be strong, okay?" She grunted in pain again. "Get out of here…before…before I…"

Roxas gripped her even tighter. "Xion?!"

Xion was silent for a long time. For a moment, Roxas thought she was gone, and started to cry. But then she opened her mouth again, speaking in a perfect monotone. "I'm perfectly fine."

Roxas almost sighed in relief, but then the fishiness of this occurred to him. "But you were just saying he was hurting you…"

"He stopped." Xion opened her eyes. The right one was a bright, unnatural yellow. "Everything's fine."

Roxas held his hand over the eye that was still blue and held up his fingers, trying hard not to panic again. "How many fingers?"

Xion blinked. "Um…two."

"That's right." He moved his hand and covered the yellow eye, leaving the blue eye open. "Now?"

A scowl appeared on her face. "Why does it matter?"

"I'm making sure you're okay."

"Two."

He was holding up three fingers. He could see absolute terror in the blue eye. "How do you feel?"

Xion grabbed his arm. "Fall asleep," she said in an assertive voice.

"Wha—" Roxas felt his lips snap shut. He couldn't open them again, just grunt in protest.

"You're very sleepy," Xion continued in her commanding voice. "You want to lie down."

Roxas suddenly became so tired that he started to hallucinate. He could see the room warping around him, and he could feel himself getting heavy. He couldn't help but close his eyes and slump his head onto Xion's shoulder. Xion pushed it off and held him down by the forehead on the pillow. "Everything's fading away," she intoned, this time in a meaner voice.

Roxas moaned, trying his best to fight the tired feeling, but he only barely _wanted _to fight it. He could feel his free will draining from him. It was actually a lot like falling asleep—a forced sleep, as if he were being drugged.

"Fall asleep."

_No, no, no, no, no, no, no, nononono—_

That's when he lost his will entirely.

0=0=0=0=0=0

**The dramatic cliffhanger is dramatic, so instead of talking about it, I'll tease you by talking about random details! :)**

**First, it seems that VenNami is happening. I say 'happening' because that's how it is—it's just flowing from my fingers beyond my will. I don't know what it is. Maybe he's inheriting the RokuNami relationship? Maybe it's just him being the big brother he's been the whole story so far? Whatever it is, I'll run with it. After all, when you're actually in love, you suddenly start shipping everything. :)**

**Second (and less importantly), I'd like to talk a bit about the Comfort spell that Ventus used to soothe Namine. Really, I just created it for plot convenience, but I did think of a way it could be a game mechanic. I thought it could be a weaker version of the Cure spell—it heals you to full health, but only temporarily. After a couple minutes, if you don't heal for real, you are left with very little HP. The upside is that it costs less MP than Cure, and so you can still cast other spells if you need to. Basically, a risk-versus-reward type of deal. Upgraded versions last longer and leave you with more HP when time is up. That's how I roll—I really am imagining this as KH3. But again, I only created it for convenience. Okay, enough rambling about that random detail. :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for chapter fourteen!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Welcome to chapter fourteen. This is where things finally get dark. Really dark. Insanely dark. Like, holy pancake, I had no idea that it'd end up this dark. Secrets will be revealed, and people will scream. I guess it's fitting that Xion's number is a major turning point in the story. :) Without further ado, let's get to it…**

0=0=0=0=0=0

**Unforgettable**

**Chapter XIV**

**Superiority**

0=0=0=0=0=0

"_The boy's anger and rage grows ever stronger, and the puppet is under control. Our plan continues apace."_

"_I commend you. You truly are as effective as I remember."_

"_Thank you, sir. Though may I ask a question?"_

"_As you wish."_

"_What shall become of Lea?"_

"_Very simple. He shall come back into our fold."_

"_And if he refuses?"_

"…_Then we shall see."_

0=0=0=0=0=0

When he hit yet another dead end with no apprentices in sight, Sora threw his Keyblade on the ground. "Okay, I'm done," he huffed.

Lea sighed. "To be honest…I've been waiting for you to say that."

Sora turned around. "What are we going to do? We don't have any other leads! Ienzo said—"

"Hey." Lea patted Sora on the shoulder. "Chill. We've got this."

"Huh?"

He smiled. "You're doing the pouty face. The pouty face makes you look ridiculous, because it isn't you. We'll figure this out, don't worry. Xion will be safe. I promise."

Sora closed his eyes. "The thing is…I feel like she's in trouble. Big trouble."

"_I'm sure you can do this. And hey…" Lea tapped his temple. "_You're an _optimist. _Got it memorized?"

Sora managed a laugh. "You say that a lot."

Satisfied, Lea laughed with him. "Because it's a good saying! You remind me so much of Roxas…"

"Guess that's why he's my Nobody."

Of course, the laws of adventure dictated that all moments of friendship in dangerous areas be interrupted by sudden ambush.

Two Samurais appeared to either side of the two, surrounded by a dozen Shadows each. To make things worse, a giant white flower sprung up out of the ground, blocking the path back up to the surface. It's roots sprung up as well, acting like tentacles. As usual, a name sprung to Sora's mind—the Forgetful Flower. That didn't sound good. At all.

Sora summoned his Keyblade again and stood back to back with Lea. "Here we go again…"

Lea just put on a wild grin. "Don't worry. I love this part."

Sora jumped up on Lea's shoulders and pointed his Keyblade forward. Lea began spinning around like a top, surrounded by a circle of sparks. Some of the shadows closer to the two disappeared instantly. Sora picked off the rest of the shadows with fireballs shot from his Keyblade, acting as a turret.

As Lea began to slow down, he grunted. "Come on…" He brought the two chakrams in his hands together, and they began to glow. "_Yes!"_

In a flurry of fire, the chakrams transformed into the Keyblade that had been giving him so much trouble. He jumped away from Sora and pointed the Keyblade at the two Samurais, who where now huddled together. _"Burn, baby!" _he yelled as a giant jet of flame shot out from the Keyblade and blasted the Nobodies, obliterating them in seconds.

When the flames died down, Sora grinned. "Okay. Even Pouty Me recognizes that _that _was legitimately awesome."

Lea twirled the Keyblade in his hands. "Well, what do you expect from a man with a hairdo like this?" The Keyblade flickered with sparks in his hand, then vanished. "Um…it does that sometimes…"

Sora would have laughed again, had the Forgetful Flower not shot hundreds of needles at him, forcing him to dodge out of the way. He got back in combat stance. "Too bad. It could really help right now."

Lea summoned his chakrams back again and blocked the needles. "Don't rub it in…"

Sora could feel Limit Form coming to him, and he jumped back and prepared to let it take him. But as the light shot out from him, something strange began to happen. He could feel a creeping sensation all through his body. It felt alien. Dark. _Wrong. _He knew this all too well, and he still hated it every single time.

"Not again…"

0=0=0=0=0=0

"_This is him. It's Sora."_

_This doesn't feel right. At all. I'm starting to change, and everything in my body is telling me to stop. But I can't stop. I have no choice. Roxas and Axel…everyone…they're depending on me, even if they don't realize it._

_I turn and reach out to the boy who has given me so much. "You're next, Roxas. I have to make you a part of me, too."_

_Dark energy swirls around me. "Don't you see? This is why I was created."_

_I wish I didn't have to do this…but I have to save Roxas. Even if I have to fight him to do it._

0=0=0=0=0=0

Anti Sora lunged at the enemy, screeching like a wild animal. He slashed at it with claws, finding satisfaction with the sound of every cut. He did not feel mercy or pity for this thing. It was trying to destroy that black-haired girl, the one who was so important, and it enraged him. Anger and hate fueled him as he jumped to one of the tendrils and ripped it out of the ground, swinging it around like a whip.

The flower was stunned, and collapsed. In his normal form, Sora would have taken a quick second to heal before going at it. But Anti Sora did not _need _to heal. Anti Sora was, after all, better in every way. How could the 'real' Sora have been so foolish? That naïve boy couldn't save a cat stuck in a tree, let alone a girl in deep despair and under constant threat of deletion from the universe. Anti Sora had always been the one meant to save that girl.

Anti Sora was superior. Anti Sora was the true Sora. Anti Sora was a god.

With a final slash, the flower exploded and disappeared. The darkness dissipated, leaving Sora back in his old form. He gave out a slow, dark laugh, still coming down from the high that the taste of dark power had given him. "They're hurting will be mended when I return to end it…but yours will _never end…"_

Then he blinked and snapped back to himself. He sighed. "…Why does it make me so _evil…"_

Lea just stared at him. "If this is a dream…I need to stop watching scary movies just before bed."

Sora turned. "Sorry. That's my Anti Form. It's…not me."

He heard slow clapping and an unfamiliar voice behind him. "Impressive display."

He turned and found himself looking at Even and Aeleus.

0=0=0=0=0=0

All Xion wanted to do right now was curl up in a ball and cry, but she wasn't allowed. She wasn't even capable of it—this eye was the only thing she could control now that the Voice—no, the _Monster _had taken over. She was but a helpless observer as he did things in her name, her body.

The Monster clutched Roxas' head and whispered in his ear. "You're mine now," he said in a mockery of Xion's own voice.

Roxas slammed his hand on the bed—at least he was still fighting in whatever horrible nightmare he was now in. "No. I'm…myself…"

"You are more than my servant or slave. You are my toy. My _puppet. _I can make you do whatever I want, think whatever I want."

Roxas moaned. "I don't want to be a puppet…"

"What you want doesn't matter. You don't want anything. You can't. You'd need free will."

"But I have—_GAH!" _In his half-sleep, half-hypnotized state, Roxas writhed in pain. Xion recognized this. She had been going through it herself just a few minutes ago. It had been very painful. But she felt even more pain now, knowing her best friend was undergoing the same torture.

The Monster growled at him. "You don't have free will anymore. I own it."

Roxas whimpered. "Do you own Xion's free will…?"

If Xion could have sighed, she would have. That was Roxas, always thinking of her first. Most of the time, that was very sweet, but in this case, she thought his priorities could use a little reorganizing.

The Monster put on a soothing tone. "I am Xion. If you become my puppet, you'll never forget me."

_Roxas! _Xion tried to scream, still feeling the slight tingle of control. _It's a trick! Don't listen to him!_

Of course, this didn't work. Roxas snuggled into his captor. "I love you…"

_What? _Xion tried to process what she had just heard, knowing the words were meant for her, not for this _animal _that had stolen her identity. _Please…hear me…I love you, too…_

The Monster grinned in delight. "Very good. Then you'll enjoy being my puppet, right?"

_I love you, too…_

Roxas was smiling. "Yes. I can't think of anything better."

_Stop it…I love you…_

"Then you just need to let me control you."

_No…I love you…_

"How do I do that?"

_I love you…_

"Let the nightmare take you. Let it kill you."

_I love you…_

"That'll hurt…a lot…but I'll do it for you."

_I LOVE—_

Pain. Pure pain. Not burning. Not throbbing. Not stinging. Only _pain. _This was Xion's world for a few moments that felt like eternity.

0=0=0=0=0=0

Still carrying Namine in his arms, Ventus kicked open the door to Xion's room. He found Xion gripping Roxas' head, whispering to him. That was probably bad. Ventus ran to Namine's bed, set her down and summoned his Keyblade. "Let him go."

Xion smiled at him. "Hi, Ven. Roxas is very happy. Aren't you, Roxas?"

Roxas opened his eyes and sat up. "Yes," he said in a monotone. "I feel great."

Ventus held his hand out to him. "Roxas, you're being controlled. Fight it."

Roxas tilted his head. "But I already know I'm being controlled."

"What?"

He did that thing with clutching his chest again. "It's the best feeling in the world."

Ventus turned back to Xion. "What did you do to him?"

Xion grinned. "I made him happy. Soon, Namine will be happy, too. Then you can be happy. We can all be happy together."

"A false happiness, maybe." He made a flourish with his Keyblade. "I'm not letting you get away with this. Let. Him. Go."

Xion closed her eyes and smirked. "You've changed a lot in these years."

Ventus just glared. "I knew it…"

Xion's voice got deeper, and her hair began to grow into spikes like Sora's. "I've been inside this girl for a long time. The shard of a heart you gave her…it contained me. It was really kind of fitting, when you think about it. She was a mirror of Roxas, and I am a mirror of you."

Ventus just sighed. He had anticipated this.

"Let's try this again."

Vanitas summoned Oblivion.

"Join now with your better half."

0=0=0=0=0=0

**YUP.**

**I'd just like to say real quick, I'm sorry that I haven't been replying to reviews. In between studying for college and spending more time with my girlfriend and even wrapping up KH2 (it's a hard game to pull away from, okay? :P), it just slips out of my mind. I'll try to reply this time around. You are all awesome!**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading, and be sure to keep an eye out for chapter fifteen, where things will most likely keep spiraling into darkness…**


	15. Chapter 15

**Welcome to chapter fifteen! I can't believe I'm this far in. The whole story has begun falling into place in my mind. Of course, that has the side effect of making me realize that this is going to be even longer than I thought it would be. I would say this is the real 1/3 point. Which means I still have thirty more of these things to write. AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! …Excuse me. :)**

**Anyway! On to the chapter, which for once has RIKU!**

0=0=0=0=0=0

**Unforgettable**

**Chapter XV**

**Doppelgangers**

0=0=0=0=0=0

"_Aren't they going to be a bit suspicious? I know I would be."_

"_They will be very suspicious, yes. But they need them."_

"_Ah, good point, good point. But when the trap pops…"_

"_Then they'll already be helpless."_

0=0=0=0=0=0

"Let's try this again. Join now with your better half."

Ventus sighed. "You're nuts."

"What?" Vanitas grinned. "You're telling me that you _just _figured that out?"

Before Ventus could move in, Vanitas rose into the air. As he did, he left behind a shadowy figure who looked just like Xion. She collapsed on the floor, panting. Unlike many like her, she seemed capable of actually making person-like sounds.

Vanitas was far out of reach by now, so Ventus kept his eyes on what he decided to call Anti Xion. "Who are you?" he asked, not expecting a reply.

Anti Xion pulled herself up. "No one," she said, speaking despite her lack of a mouth. Her voice echoed. "I'm imaginary."

_Okay, _Ventus thought. _Maybe I can reason with her. _"You seem pretty real."

"I'm just an illusion." Her yellow, Heartless-like eyes narrowed, and she pointed at Ventus. "You made me that way."

"No, I didn't."

"Why, Roxas?" She sounded like she was torn between hatred and despair. "Why did you kill me?"

Ventus shook his head. "I'm not Roxas. And he only killed you because you made the choice to join Sora."

"Oh, yeah." Even more hatred filled the shadow's voice. "_Sora."_

Seven blue, Shadow-like beings sprung up from the ground. Ventus recognized them, but hadn't expected to see them ever again. Then again, he hadn't exactly hoped to see Vanitas, either. It seemed like a lot of nasty things from his past were returning today. In any case, he knew in an instant that negotiation had already failed. Instead, he lunged at the Unversed, cutting them up in a few swings.

He jumped back and stared at Anti Xion. "Try harder."

Anti Xion's hands grew claws. Ventus was just barely able to hear her whimper and whisper. "Help me…"

Ventus nodded. "Hang in there."

Anti Xion pounced, spinning like a tornado and slashing at the air. Ventus sidestepped the attack and swung around, hitting her in the back of the head with his Keyblade. It didn't faze her a bit, and she slashed at Ventus' arm, making a huge cut. While he was still dazed from the pain, she grabbed his legs and threw him up into the ceiling. As he came down, she made another gash in his back.

Ventus managed to dodgeroll just as Anti Xion charged like a bull. She hit the wall and screeched, clutching her head. After casting Cure on himself, Ventus took the opportunity and threw his Keyblade at her. It hit her the first time, but as it came back, she actually grabbed it in midair and threw it back. It whipped past Ventus' head, smashing the lamp and plunging the room into darkness.

Ventus sighed and summoned his Keyblade back. "You're pretty good," he called, hoping a compliment might at least confuse her.

And then he was on the floor, with Anti Xion's claws scratching his cheeks. "_I hate you."_

Ventus kicked out of the pin and cast Cure again. "You really don't."

Anti Xion made a small whimper and stepped back a bit. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Ventus extended his hand. "I know. You can fight this. Just—"

Vanitas called from above. "Kill him!"

Anti Xion charged again, grabbing Ventus and smashing him through the door. When Ventus regained his senses, he realized that the island wasn't in its usual perpetually sunny state, but instead in the middle of what appeared to be a hurricane. Despite everything, he smiled a bit as he jumped up again and raised his Keyblade in the air. "Wind!"

A huge tornado came down from the sky and hit the platform, sucking in Anti Xion and tossing her into the air, along with lots of wooden boards and a few uprooted palm trees. The tornado swept through the beach, tossing her aside. Ventus jumped down from the platform above and crashed into her, bringing his Keyblade down on her.

Ventus stepped back and caught his breath as the shadow vanished, to be replaced by the real Xion. She was wearing her Organization coat. She tried to push herself up again, but it was no use, and her face hit the sand.

Ventus ran over and held Xion's head. "It's over, it's okay."

Xion curled up into fetal position. "Am I going to fade away again?" she asked, with a hint of fear in her voice.

"No." Ventus cast Cure on her. "You'll be fine."

Xion was shaking. "You're not just saying that to make me feel better, right?"

"Right." He pulled Xion to her feet. "It's oka—"

Ventus felt something gripping his neck tight. The hand spun him around, bringing him face-to-face with a dark Roxas.

Anti Roxas made a guttural growl as he clutched tighter and raised Ventus in the air. _"Do. Not. Touch. Her."_

Ventus' vision got blurry. "Rox…Roxas…"

Xion stepped back. "Roxas, don't—"

Ventus used the last of the air and energy in his body to shout. _"RUN!"_

Before he could make sure that Xion had heeded his orders, he blacked out entirely.

_That's better. Time for a chat, then…_

0=0=0=0=0=0

Lea hadn't let his guard down for a second. "Interesting timing."

Even rolled his eyes. "Surely, it would be foolish to drop in while a pitched battle was in progress."

"Still suspicious."

He scowled. "Considering that I remember what you did to me, _Axel, _I would suggest you be very kind now."

Lea might have gone off on him, but Sora held his shoulder. When Lea turned, he saw that the boy looked as though his own nerves were being pushed. "We need your help," he stated to the men flatly.

Even made a knowing smile. "And why would we help you, boy?"

"Nowhere else to go?"

Aeleus shook his head. "We're doing just fine on our own."

Sora narrowed his eyes. "Then how about you come with us unconscious?"

Lea blinked and stared at Sora with not a little horror. Blatant threats weren't his style. What was up with the kid? Whatever it was, Lea didn't like it all.

Even kept up the smug grin. "Oh, yes, that would make us help you. Perhaps you should give up, child."

Lea could feel anger radiating from Sora. In fact, he could _see _it—not just his expression, but a strange, shadowy mist forming around his eyes, making him look as though he hadn't slept in a long, long time.

That didn't seem good at all…

0=0=0=0=0=0

_*BZZT*_

"_Your existence is worth NOTHING!"_

_*BZZT*_

"_So much to inspect…to dissect…"_

_*BZZT*_

_Huh…where am I? Actually…who…_

_Someone is staring down at me with a grin on his face. "At last…it is complete."_

_Maybe he knows. But how do I say things again? I mumble gibberish at him._

_He scoffs. "You are too weak and stupid to form words, No.i. But not to worry—if I did my calculations right, it shall come to you in exactly 576 hours."_

_That's too long…wait…No.i…is that my name? I don't like it. I don't like this person, either. I guess I don't _not _like him, either…I feel so empty…_

"_Get up."_

_Get up? But I'm too woozy, and the lights hurt…_

_He pulls me up by the hair. It hurts even more, and I grunt and flail my arms. He doesn't seem to care. "You will get up and await further instruction."_

_Why is he so mean? Ugh…I'll just close my eyes, maybe he—ow! …Did he just slap me? I think he did…_

_*BZZT*_

0=0=0=0=0=0

Acting on an impulse, Sora drew his Keyblade and pointed it straight at Even. "Come with us. _Now."_

After a moment, Even nodded, still smiling. "Very well."

Sora slung the Keyblade on his shoulders. "Smart move. The ship is this way."

As they walked back to the Gummi ship, Lea got next to Sora. "Whoa," he whispered. "Chill."

"Says the guy who killed one of them."

Lea blinked. "Wait…how do you even remember that?"

"I don't. He just acted like it." For a moment, he stopped and looked Lea straight in the eyes. "You're remembering Xion, right?"

Lea paused for a second, stunned by the change of topic and the intense gaze. "…Yeah, of course. I'm working as hard as I can."

"Good."

With that, Sora moved on ahead, leaving Lea trailing behind in befuddlement at the new, angry Sora…

0=0=0=0=0=0

Just as Riku had anticipated, even the computer room of this stupid mansion contained nothing but a bunch of bad memories.

He sighed and tossed the files on the ground. "Well, that's the whole mansion. For some reason, Ansem left nothing. Now what?"

Mickey scratched his head, deep in thought. Then he snapped his fingers. "I've got it!"

The mouse ran to the computer terminal—which was somehow still functioning—and typed something in. On the wall to the south side of the room, machinery sprung to life, and an energy beam shot down. A small portal opened, seeming to beckon for the duo to come forth and enter.

Riku raised his eyebrow. "That's the Digital Twilight Town, not the Realm of Darkness."

Mickey walked in front of the threshold of the wormhole. "Yes. But there's another portal. That's what will take us to the Realm."

"Does it even still work, now that the Organization is gone?"

"I dunno." Mickey pumped his fist. "But it's sure worth a shot."

Riku smiled and went to the portal himself. "I think I like you so much because you're like if Sora wasn't a _total _dork…"

The two entered the strange, digital realm. It was there that they met their first true surprise of the day.

A female figure in an Organization cloak stood in front of them in the middle of the room, completely silent. Every couple seconds, she would pixilate or flicker in and out of view, like a glitchy video game. She wasn't doing anything else, just standing there and staring.

Riku stepped back. "Xion?!"

No reply. Mickey shrugged. "Maybe it's really glitching out without someone maintaining it."

"No. I _know _that's her." Riku took a few steps toward her and extended his hand. "Hey. It's me. Riku."

The figure spoke in a voice that sounded like it was filtered through static. "This isn't where I belong."

Riku stepped back a bit, but kept the hand out. "Where do you belong?"

"With the data." She shook her head. "I'm just data. Just like Roxas."

Mickey walked toward her. "Are you from Jiminy's journal?"

"Jiminy?" Xion—no, Data Xion—made an laugh. It sounded very forced. "That's a funny name."

Riku put his hand down, since it was clear that she wouldn't reach back. "Where did you come from?" he asked, hoping for a clearer response this time.

"…I don't remember. But Roxas said…I needed to be safe…"

Mickey nodded. "And he sent you here?"

Data Xion's voice grew strained. "Maybe…I don't know."

"Is there a problem back there? Is something goin'—"

"_I. DON'T. KNOW!"_

Mickey and Riku both stepped back, listening to the staticy voice echo around the room. Riku was shocked—he may not have remembered much yet, but he knew that Xion wasn't prone to fits of anger. And beyond that, if Xion had been completely erased, why did this data copy exist? What was going on?

He decided to take a new approach. "What do you want most right now?"

Data Xion sounded on the verge of crying. "Quiet. I want quiet."

And so, Riku and Mickey obliged and fell silent. Data Xion sat down on the floor, curled up in a ball, clutching her head and muttering the phrase "don't cry" over and over. Riku sighed. This didn't match how he remembered Xion at all. He remembered a strong, independent girl, just like Kairi, not this. Apparently, the data copy was not exactly perfect…or else even the virtual version of her story was enough to traumatize her into submission.

After a long moment, Data Xion spoke again. "I don't want to disappear again. Please don't go."

_Just what I needed in my life. Another moral quandary. _Riku bent down next to her. "I'm sorry. We have somewhere really important to be."

"So I'm not important?"

"You are. It's just that…" Riku closed his eyes. "I don't know what to do right now…"

Mickey walked up to Data Xion. "I'll stay here with you. Would ya like that?"

Data Xion suddenly clutched Mickey like a teddy bear. "Please!"

After recovering from mild shock, Mickey patted her on the back. "It'll be okay."

She seemed a little less glitchy now. She sniffled a bit. "Can we…go to the clocktower, please?"

"Okay." Mickey got up, holding Data Xion's hand, and turned to Riku. "Go on ahead."

Riku blinked. "But…alone?"

Mickey nodded. "I believe in you, Riku. You can do this."

After a moment, Riku nodded back. "If you say so."

With that, Riku moved into the next room, hoping that Mickey's trust was well placed…

0=0=0=0=0=0

**I'll just let you hang off those juicy cliffs. :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading, and be sure to tune in for chapter sixteen, which will have MOAR RIKU!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hello, and welcome to chapter sixteen! Now, I know I said Riku would be in this chapter, but as it turns out, I was hit by inspiration and it ended up longer than I intended, and I had to split it up into two chapters. Don't worry—you won't be disappointed! We've got lots of drama to go around, so let's get to it!**

0=0=0=0=0=0

**Unforgettable**

**Chapter XVI**

**Commands**

0=0=0=0=0=0

"_Cid, something is wrong with the computer."_

"_What? But we already dealt with this!"_

"_I can't do anything. It's completely locked down."_

"_Ctrl-alt-delete."_

"_Tried that."_

"_Oh, not again!"_

0=0=0=0=0=0

When running from danger, it is usually best to run toward friends. However, this can be impeded when the entire platform leading to said friends has been torn to shreds.

Feeling fear rising in her, Xion looked back and forth between Anti Roxas, who had handed Ventus to Vanitas and was now calling her name, and her room up in the tree. She could control her body again, but now she had a different problem—she didn't even know what to do with that body. And somehow, despite the terror she had gone through, not having anyone in her head other than herself felt vaguely lonely. She couldn't place why, but figured it was supposed to make the control addictive.

She pushed this out of her mind for now and focused on trying to figure out how to get to her room. But it seemed like the more she focused on it, the harder it became to find an answer. Panic was rising in her, which in turn brought about anger—what was wrong with her, she had gone through worse than this before, why couldn't she just pull it together—which only fueled more panic. This infinite feedback loop took over her mind, triggering an intense headache.

She fell to the ground, clutching her head. "Breathe," she told herself, even though her throat was so tight that she was having trouble speaking. "Breathe…breathe…come on, just breathe…"

She felt a hand on her shoulder. "There you are."

Xion calmed down as she felt the love in Roxas' words.

Then she noticed the echo in his voice. "Don't leave me…ever again."

Fear came back to her as she remembered what Roxas had turned into.

He held her other shoulder. "Please…I can't bear to forget you again."

The confusing mix of love and fear swirled in her mind, leaving her emotionally paralyzed and mute.

"Hey…can you hear me?"

All Xion could manage was a whisper. "Do you like being a puppet, Roxas?"

Anti Roxas considered this. "…No. But I'll do anything if it means you'll be okay. Anything."

Xion shook her head. "No…I'd rather not be okay than let you be controlled."

Anti Roxas gripped her shoulders tighter, and she could feel an incredible sense of neediness. "If I lose you again…"

Tears came to Xion's eyes. "Roxas…you fought so hard not to be controlled. And now you're just letting it happen for me…thank you for that. But…you can't let your fear take away your freedom. It's okay to worry about me…but worry about yourself first, okay? It's important. You have to fight him."

There was nothing but silence for a minute. Then, she felt warmth spreading over her…and saw a darkness doing the same. She could hear Roxas talking in her head. "No. Don't go."

Xion could feel herself falling into a blank, happy stupor. "You won't lose me, I promise…"

"Thank you."

She shook her head, resisting the feeling. "…But I need you to do something for me."

"Anything at all."

She doubted that. "Roxas…if you really love me…let go of me."

More suffocating silence. "…What?"

"Show me that you love me, Roxas."

It ached her to give him this ultimatum, but then, what choice did she have? She could already feel the darkness starting to change her. Her hands had gone completely numb, and she could see them growing into claws. Worse, she actually _liked _them as claws. She wanted desperately to close her eyes, to sleep, but she knew that was exactly why she couldn't.

Really nasty thoughts, thoughts of hatred and despair and committing terrible deeds, started filling her head, and her vision blurred. "What if I forget you again?" Roxas asked.

Xion just gritted her teeth. "Do. You. Love. Me."

She could hear Roxas hyperventilating, and for a moment, she was afraid that she had only made everything worse. Surely, the same paradoxical feelings of love and fear that filled her had to be going through his mind as well, amplified by an order of magnitude. Roxas had always hated paradoxes. He wanted everything to be black and white, the right path clear as crystal. But that wasn't how things worked. Had Xion only pushed him further into the fear that was controlling him? Her thoughts grew further apart, separated only by blank darkness…

Then, she felt the darkness slip off her, like taking off an overly hot blanket. Her mind rushed back to her, and she opened the eyes she had forgotten she closed. She got up and turned around, seeing that Roxas had now reverted from shadow to yellow eyes. He hadn't quite shaken off Vanitas' control, but this was an improvement.

Roxas nodded. "I do love you."

"I love you, too." Xion stepped back. "I'll be fine. Keep fighting, okay? Promise me."

"I promise."

With that, Xion latched onto the tree with her newfound claws and climbed up, running like a wild cat. That was one problem solved, at least…

0=0=0=0=0=0

Having an entire town all to yourself can either be nice or creepy, depending on your perspective and love of privacy. Personally, Mickey found it creepy.

Data Xion gripped Mickey's hand tight. It felt like holding an electric ball at a science museum. "I don't want to be deleted," she mumbled.

Mickey sighed. This was the fifth or sixth time she had said this, but the sigh was one of pity rather than tedium. "You're safe with me. Perk up, all right? It's okay to be scared, but ya gotta push past it."

The girl shook her head. "I don't know how."

Mickey thought for a second. "What's something that makes you happy?"

"…Can I feel happiness? I'm just data…"

He nodded. "If you can be scared, you can be happy."

Xion stopped and looked up at the sky. "…The sunset. It's pretty."

"Then focus on the sunset. But don't stare at the sun—that'll hurt your eyes."

She giggled at this, and Mickey gave her a thumbs up. If there was one thing Mickey had learned over the course of his life, it was that a little positivity went a long way. Of course, his life had been having a good deal of trouble lately, and he hadn't often been able to adhere to that rule as much as he would have liked. It pleased him to at least be able to pass the lesson on to someone else.

The two stepped out into the plaza by the train station. "Here we are," Mickey said.

Xion looked up at the clocktower and smiled. "I'm home." Then her face fell, and she looked back down. "No…no I'm not."

Mickey patted her on the arm. "If ya feel home, that's enough."

Xion perked up again. "Yeah, you're right. I just wish—"

Her words were interrupted by a buzzing noise that sounded like a computer error. A dozen mysterious entities appeared in front of the two. They weren't the usual Heartless or Nobodies, which would have been odd enough, but rather some weird combination of the two. Some of them appeared to be black Dusks, with Heartless emblems on their heads, while others were the opposite, white Shadows with Organization sigils on their backs.

Mickey drew his Keyblade, and the gold glimmered in the sunlight. "What?"

Xion drew back. "No…no, no, no…"

Mickey turned to her. "What are they?"

Panic rose in her voice. "Glitches…they're going to delete me, they're going to delete me…"

Mickey turned back to the strange beings. "Not if I can help it!"

Mickey sprang at the Glitches, landing in the center of the pack and taking out half of them in one sweep. The other six were knocked out with similar ease, all bursting like ballons. Mickey had done all this before. He had taken down Giant Heartless in a single hit in the past. Shadow and Dusk copycats were like ants to him.

But of course, there had to be a complication.

Within seconds, another wave materialized, twice as large as the first. And this time, they actually put up a fight—when Mickey swung at one of them, the Keyblade passed right through it, and it took minimal damage before striking back and knocking him to the ground.

Mickey jumped up and out of the swarm and looked over to Xion. To his dismay, the girl was scrunching up against the wall on the edge of the plaza and shielding her face with her hands. As the Glitches surrounded her, she made whimpers that soon grew into full-fledged screams. "I'm sorry!" she yelled at them. "I'm sorry! Don't make me vanish, please!"

Mickey sighed and ran in front of Xion. He started casting Reflect repeatedly as the enemies tried to slash at them. After a few of them were destroyed from impacting with the shield, they drew back and stared, as if waiting for them to make the next move.

Deciding that they was safe as long as he stayed within Reflect radius of Xion, Mickey hopped onto her lap and held her shoulders. "I'll protect you, okay? You're safe and sound."

Xion kept hiding behind her hands. "Make them go away…"

"I'm trying. Why do they want to kill ya?"

She paused. "…I betrayed them."

"Huh?"

"I was their leader…but then I didn't want to be anymore, and they decided I was useless…"

Mickey considered this. "Well…maybe if ya act like a leader, they'll still listen to ya."

"…Okay." Xion took her hands off her face and stared at the surrounding Glitches. "Go away…"

Mickey shook his head. "No, no one will listen to a whimper. Be confident."

Xion shuddered. "But they're scary…"

"I know. But they don't have to be. Pretend you're very big and they are very small." Mickey hopped off her lap and gave her a tight squeeze on her hand. "You can do it, Xion."

Xion closed her eyes and stood up. "Go away," she said again, this time a little louder.

The Glitches didn't budge an inch. She repeated her order a few times. But something was going on. Instead of sounding more distressed with each request, as Mickey would have expected, she seemed to be getting angrier. She was arguing with herself under her breath—"No, he'll hate you if he sees…you might delete him too…but…no…"

After repeating her orders for the seventh time, finally as an army yell, to no effect, she opened her eyes and stuck her hand up into the sky. "Access command console!"

These strange words echoed throughout the square. Then, a robotic female voice responded, seeming to come from the sky. _"Password."_

"Sea-salt ice cream!"

"_Correct." _A blue computer-like hologram appeared in front. _"Input command."_

Without breaking a sweat, Xion pointed at the enemies in front of her. "Scan my line of sight."

A blue cone of light shone on the Glitches. After a second, all of them glowed red, along with a few of the more run-down, pixelated bricks in the plaza. _"The data marked in red is corrupt."_

Xion narrowed her eyes and closed her fist. "Delete marked data."

"_Initiating deletion program."_

Red pillars of light shot out of the sky and hit the glitches, making them explode into lines of code. Mickey stared as the enemies that even he had had trouble dissipated instantly. He knew that the Digital Twilight Town was just that—digital, a computer program, a bunch of zeroes and ones. But he had no idea just how malleable the code was. How had Xion accessed it so easily?

When the last pillar of light dissipated, a cheerful ding sounded. _"Deletion complete. Corrupt data removed."_

Xion lowered her hand and spoke softly. "Close command console. Resume background operation."

The menu closed, and all was quiet. After a moment, Mickey walked up to Xion. "How did ya do that?"

Xion avoided his gaze. "Roxas taught me," she mumbled.

"I met Roxas once. He never did anything like that, and he was pretty mad."

"I don't want to talk about it." She walked toward the train station, as if trying to get away from the mouse. "You'll hate me."

Mickey ran after her. "Why would I hate you?"

Xion whipped around and screamed at him. "I don't want to delete you, too!"

Mickey stepped back. Somehow, that didn't feel like a threat…more like a plea for help…but he couldn't take it as anything but a threat for now. "Whoa…calm. Be calm."

Xion gasped and covered her mouth. Tears filled her eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…"

Mickey put his finger over his lips and walked to her side, holding his hand out to her. "It's okay. Don't cry. I'm not mad at you."

Xion stared at him, then took his hand. "…Why am I crying?"

"Because you're sad, 'cause you thought you made me angry."

"But…but Roxas said that I can't cry because I'm data…"

Mickey shook his head. "Well, he's wrong."

"But Roxas said—"

He squeezed her hand. "Don't listen to Roxas. Think your own thoughts."

Xion closed her eyes again. "…He said that he's never wrong."

Mickey blinked. What was Data Roxas telling this girl? In fact, _what was he doing in the first place?_

0=0=0=0=0=0

Jiminy Cricket was used to being ignored by now. He sat in Sora's pocket, dutifully writing down the day's events in his journal. As anyone who has been around humans for more than five seconds knows, being a conscience is often a thankless, underappreciated line of work. But still, it was a job that needed done, and Jiminy was happy to do it, along as acting as a scribe.

After concluding his account of the day, he closed the journal, ate some trail mix Sora had left for him and looked at the first journal, the one that had caused him so much trouble over the last year. Sometimes he considered rewriting it…but he never got around to it. Perhaps the single line, _Thank Namine, _was just sacred somehow, preventing the book from being altered. Or maybe he just didn't feel like doing all the hard work of writing a book again. Either theory was valid.

But tonight, he felt oddly drawn to the journal. He knew what he would find. But still, he opened it up again and flipped through it. He stopped on the last page, in shock.

"Not again…"

_STOP. DO NOT DEFILE THE JOURNAL. LEAVE US ALONE. OBEY._

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**Yes, the data in Jiminy's journal is going to play a role in this story. No, I can't tell you yet what's going on. Hang onto that cliff…**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading, and be sure to tune in for chapter seventeen with even more drama! …Wait, chapter **_**seventeen? **_**This story is WAY longer than I thought it would be… :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Welcome to chapter seventeen! This is another breather chapter (and another chapter with no Riku :P), but it sets up what's to come. Plus, KH3 news is coming today, and I wanted to put something out for that. :) I hope you enjoy!**

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**Unforgettable**

**Chapter XVII**

**Preparations**

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"_Okay, we'll split up. I'll go back to Disney Castle, you go check up on Radiant Garden."_

"_Sounds good. But can I ask something?"_

"_What?"_

"_Are you feeling okay? You were kind of…angry back there."_

"…_Sorry. I've been having a bad mood lately. But I'll be all right!"_

"_If you say so…"_

0=0=0=0=0=0

Everything was too loud, too bright, too _existent, _and Namine hated it all.

She buried her head under the pillow, trying to block out everything. That fight had been loud enough, but of course they had to get rid of the door and let in noises from the outside. And the outside was really noisy, what with the storm. All Namine wanted to do was sleep, just sleep forever, and everything was getting in her way.

Case in point, the light hand she felt on her own and the voice that came with it. "Hey. Namine."

Namine swatted the girl's hand away. "Let me sleep!" she yelled into the pillow, not looking up.

Xion sat down next to her on the bed. "I'm sorry, you have to get up. It's an emergency."

She growled at the weight shift. "I don't care. Get off."

"…Are you tired?"

The kindness in Xion's voice threw Namine off, calming her down. She sighed. "Sleep is easier."

"I know." Xion stroked Namine's hair. "But it's also less fun, don't you think?"

"No. I can't have fun when I'm awake, not anymore."

"…I'll take you to a place where you can have a nice, long nap, okay? It'll be quieter, easier to sleep. But you have to get up first."

Namine considered this for a moment, then threw the pillow off the bed and sat up. She didn't open her eyes yet. "How do we get there?"

She felt a little tap on her forehead, and she opened her eyes to see Xion smiling at her. "We'll check Ventus' room, see if he wrote down any escape routes."

"So you don't know?"

"Not yet."

Finally, Namine smiled back. "That's the Xion I remember…"

0=0=0=0=0=0

_*BZZT*_

_She's pretty. She also seems nice. And she must be very brave, if she's willing to do this. It would be so great to get to know her better…but Sora needs her. Oh, well. If I'm the only one who's going to remember her, I might as well try to make that memory as happy as I can._

_So I smile. "Nice to meet you…Xion."_

_*BZZT*_

0=0=0=0=0=0

"Hey…" Namine held Xion on the shoulder. "I never forgot you. Even when you were gone…I remembered you. I was the only one who remembered you and your sacrifice. It felt lonely holding those memories, but I was still happy to hold them. I wanted to tell Roxas all about you…but I needed him to join Sora, and I was afraid he might go looking for you." She chuckled. "I had such silly fears…anyway, you were never truly forgotten. I should have told you long ago. If I had…maybe this mess wouldn't have started. I'm sorry."

When Namine saw the tears in Xion's eyes, she was afraid she had messed up. But then she realized they were tears of joy. Xion pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank you."

Namine returned the hug. "It's going to be okay," she whispered.

"I know it will be. I have Roxas. And I have you."

For a long moment, things didn't seem nearly as bad.

0=0=0=0=0=0

When Sora entered the white halls of Disney Castle, Kairi, Donald and Goofy were already there. Despite everything, Sora couldn't help but put on a silly grin at the sight of his friends. Things never seemed quite as bad when he was with them.

Especially Kairi.

Speaking of Kairi, she waved and ran over. "Sora!"

Sora's grin got even wider. "Miss me?"

"You know I always do." Kairi pointed an accusing finger and made a mock pout. "You left me behind again. Naughty Sora. Very naughty."

Sora scratched the back of his neck. "Sorry, sorry. I really wish I had brought you."

Kairi smiled and patted Sora on the head. "It's okay. But don't do it again, 'kay? You promised."

"Promise!"

This was interrupted by Even and Aeleus walking by, shoving poor Donald out of the way. "While you're performing PDA, we'll acquaint ourselves with the castle," Even said with disdain.

Donald ran after them, making various quacking noises that were probably curses in Duckspeak. Kairi watched them go and huffed. "What's his problem?"

Sora bit his lip. "I…may have put him in a bad mood."

Kairi stuck her tongue at him. "And that's why you need a girl on your team. Boys make very bad decisions."

"I…can't argue with that."

Goofy walked over, and Sora realized that the dog had been watching them with slight amusement this whole time. But before he could get too embarrassed, Goofy pointed to the door to the throne room. "They're waiting for us."

Sora gladly took the invitation out of a potentially awkward situation and opened the door. Queen Minnie, Chip and Dale, Yen Sid and Merlin all seemed to be discussing something. He walked toward the group. "What's going on?"

Minnie turned. "Oh, Sora! You came just in time."

Chip hopped from Minnie's shoulders to Sora's. "We've got a problem!"

Dale did the same. "Yeah! A big computer problem!"

Sora raised his eyebrow. "Computer problem? They were having one in Radiant Garden, too. Lea's checking it out."

"Maybe some kinda virus is going around!"

"Maybe…"

Without warning, Jiminy Cricket jumped out of Sora's pocket and ran up to the Queen. "Would this problem have anything to do with my journal?"

Minnie looked down at him. "What do you mean?"

"The first one has a new message." Jiminy pulled the journal out of his pocket. "I think it's from the data people. They says to stop 'defiling' the journal and leave them alone."

Kairi crouched down next to Jiminy, took a tiny magnifying glass from his hand and looked at the message herself. "Didn't you say you had a problem like this once? It's probably the same thing."

"Almost certainly."

Kairi smiled. "So, do what you did last time. Make contact, have them fix it."

Minnie nodded at her. "That's probably what we'll do. But who could be defiling it? Jiminy hasn't written in that journal for a couple years now."

"A traitor?"

The room fell silent. Everyone looked at Kairi blankly. After a long pause, Yen Sid walked toward her and put his hand on her shoulder. "That is possible. Likely, even. But we must not get paranoid. If we allow ourselves to suspect each other, we will fall."

Kairi looked down, a real pout on her face now. "Sorry, Master…"

Sora clapped his hands together to get attention back. "Is that it?"

Yen Sid shook his head. "No. There are two more things. First, I have…" He closed his eyes. "…Studied…how you can release the people in your heart. It appears there is more work to do."

Sora frowned a bit. "You mean there's _more?"_

"Everything worth doing requires hard work, child." Yen Sid handed him a book. The cover read _The Book of Darkness. _"This book contains information you will need."

Sora took the book and looked it over. "Who wrote this? Xehanort?"

"No. His predecessor, Master Tenel Nenel."

Kairi smiled again. "Tenel Nenel? Seriously?"

"Do not take the name lightly, Kairi. He was just as evil as his student…if not worse."

"Sounds like you knew him."

Yen Sid was silent for a just an instant longer than he should have been. "…Yes. I was…also his student. And that is all I can tell you."

Instead of pushing the master, Kairi leaned over Sora's shoulder as he read.

0=0=0=0=0=0

_The Key to Release Hearts_

_I have studied very deeply into how to extract a person's heart. I encountered one method on my travels, but I found it to be messy and prone to accidents and simple failures. And of course, stabbing just sends the heart off. I have instead taken that knowledge and created a new method, a foolproof method. It uses the power of a Keyblade to make extraction smoother and less susceptible to the powers of light or a strong heart. I will forge this Key to Release Hearts with my pupils soon. Then I shall test it, and should it work, I shall use it to stop the insolent fools who seek to overthrow me and Master Jouasi. The Land of the Foretellers shall not fall._

0=0=0=0=0=0

Beside this text was a picture of a Keyblade Sora didn't recognize. It's handle was a heart, a little like Kairi's Keyblade, and the main edge was a sunburst design. It was colored in fully, although the only colors were reds and blacks that gave it an evil appearance.

Sora looked up. "I can use this to save Xion and the others?"

Yen Sid nodded. "In theory, yes. Although you do seem to be a bit focused on this girl. Be careful not to forget the other people in your heart in remembrance of her."

Sora looked sheepish. "Um…sorry. I'll save them, too, I promise."

"I know you will." Yen Sid stared off into space. "You must go to Castle Oblivion, immediately."

Merlin ran over. "Wait a moment! You can't forget the other thing!"

Yen Sid sighed. "Merlin, I believe that the Key to Release Hearts is far more urgent. Sora must retrieve it before Xehanort can find it."

Merlin, ever stubborn, pointed at Kairi. "Perhaps she can help, then?"

Kairi stepped back. "Help with what? What are you talking about?"

Yen Sid turned to her again. "We are studying time travel, as Sora suggested. As such, Merlin has suggested that we check a world known as Timeless River for clues."

Sora smiled. "Timeless River? I liked that place. I can do it."

"No. We need you to find that key. But perhaps it would be good mission for Kairi."

Kairi crossed her arms. "You're splitting us up again, _and _he gets the more dangerous job?"

"Do not rush into danger lightly, Kairi. You are still a student of the Keyblade. Your time for glory will come, but for now, you must work towards mastery."

She huffed and turned to Sora. "Looks like I have to check this out. Be nice and fast this time, all right? I don't want to be left waiting again."

Sora grinned. "Never again!"

Kairi held Sora's hand. "Remember what I said before. Wherever you go…"

Sora closed his eyes, remembering that day. "…you're always with me. I'm always with you, too."

"I know."

Kairi gave a tight squeeze and turned back to Yen Sid. He cleared his throat. "Sora. Kairi. You both have very important jobs to do. I sense Lea, Mickey and Riku will have such important tasks as well. We are at war with Xehanort. Only through strength of heart will we be able to defeat him. So whatever lies ahead, you must remain strong. Your collective journey will be very difficult. Do not falter."

Both Keyblade wielders saluted. "Yes, sir!" they said in unison.

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**And that's Act One of Act One of Kingdom Hearts III. Did I mention that I imagine KH3 being the longest game in the series? :P**

**Okay, I'd like to make a request. I've got some Disney worlds coming up, and I'd like suggestions. I've already decided on Emperor's New Groove, and I'm saving Frozen, Marvel and Star Wars for later, but almost everything else is fair game. Just leave a suggestion in your review, and I'll consider it. :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading, and tune in next time for chapter eighteen!**


	18. Chapter 18

**And here is wonderful chapter eighteen, which happens to be the length at which I would call something a 'monster chapter', despite only having two scenes. Of course, the first one happens to be a monster-length scene, so maybe that's it. If only I could be inspired enough to write chapters like this all the time. :P In any case, we finally check up on our long-promised Riku in this one, but first, Digital Twilight Town gets a visit. Enjoy!**

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**Unforgettable**

**Chapter XVIII**

**Mistake**

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"_They have learned of the Key to Release Hearts."_

"_Good. Perhaps it shall distract them long enough for you to wrangle the memories of Lea."_

"_Of course. I am having a good deal of fun with this, you know."_

"_Do not let yourself get carried away. The plan requires that they retain some recollection…unfortunately."_

"…_You failed to inform me earlier."_

"_Even the Superior and the Master did not tell me until now."_

"_How does it feel to be left out of the loop yourself, Diviner?"_

"…_Just do your job."_

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Mickey had to admit, a Twilight Town sunset from the top of the clocktower was still one of the most beautiful sunsets he had ever seen.

He turned to Data Xion, who was now wolfing down her third ice cream bar. "Are ya feeling better now?"

Xion put aside the stick and pulled herself away from the ledge, going into fetal position again. "I'm feeling so many things…I don't know what to do with all of them."

"Just feel them."

She looked up. "What do you mean?"

Mickey smiled at her. "What do you feel the most right now?"

"…I feel like…I have to go back to where I belong. Where I _really _belong."

"You're homesick?"

Xion looked confused. "Homesick?"

"It means you've been away from wherever your home is for so long that it makes ya sad." Mickey held his chest. "Trust me. I know how it feels."

"…Yeah. I'm homesick." She looked down again. "Really, really homesick…"

Mickey held her on the shoulder. "Where is your home?"

"…I remember…a flat world. Everything was safe and warm, and I could just sleep."

Mickey scratched his chin. "A flat world…like a disc?"

Xion stretched out and smiled. "Yeah, a disc! A disc…"

"I'll bet that's where you're original data was stored. If we can find a way to get to it, maybe you can go home."

She turned to Mickey with an excited expression. "You'd do that? For me?"

Mickey nodded. "Of course I would. I don't want you to have to be sad all the time."

Xion stood up and swept Mickey up in her arms, squeezing him tight. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Mickey chuckled a bit. "You're welcome. But, um, can ya put me down?"

"Oh…sorry." Xion set Mickey down as gently as she could, then went straight back to the sudden cheery mood, jumping up and down like a little kid. "I'm going home, I'm going home!"

Mickey blinked. Mood swing wasn't quite a strong enough term for this, in his opinion. More like mood light switch. But still, it was nice to see her so happy. She looked like she needed a lot of things, happiness and hugs among them, and Mickey was glad he could provide them. He just hoped he could keep the promise he just made to her.

Xion turned to him. "Where do we go?"

Leaders such as kings are generally advised to think ahead and not make promises they might not be able to keep, but Mickey was always a bit of a rebel.

He thought for a minute. "…Let's head back to the mansion. Maybe the computer room has some clues."

"Okay!"

And so, Mickey and Xion started to head back down the stairs. The inside of the clocktower was visually impressive, full of whirring gears and tick-tocking machinery. The stairway, in contrast was small and narrow, clinging to the walls. The view was interesting, but if they ran into Glitches, there would be a problem.

Of course, they did.

Halfway down the stairs, another group of enemies appeared, six of them. Mickey didn't recognize these opponents at all. They were floating black balls, with blue spokes jutting out of them. These spokes weren't spikes—they were tiny Kingdom Keys without handles. Rather than a Heartless or Nobody insignia, these balls were marked with a simple green number zero.

Mickey summoned his Keyblade. "Glitches?"

Xion nodded. Oddly, she didn't seem nearly as afraid. "Yes. They're called Unlockers. But don't worry. They're nice."

"Huh?"

Xion walked toward the one in front of the group and held her hand out. She was smiling. "Hey, it's me. You called me Puppeteer, right?"

The Unlocker's 'forehead' lit up with binary code. After a second, the code translated to English text. _You are no longer Puppeteer._

Xion was unfazed. "Who is?"

The other Unlockers started to move forward as more code appeared. _Puppeteer no longer exists._

Xion blinked. "But…you need a leader…"

_The Virus has transcended all command. It now follows the Coder's directives and nothing else._

Xion stepped back, not sure how to respond. Mickey sent his Keyblade off and held his hand out, hoping that these were non-combat entities. "Doesn't that get a little boring?"

The Unlocker seemed to hesitate. _The Virus has no concept of boredom or fun. The Virus' only goal is control over all data._

Mickey sighed, remembering that computers didn't have feelings. But then he rejected that—Xion _did _have feelings, and expressed them. He thought of something. "Do ya hate Xion because she does have boredom and fun?"

More hesitation. _The Virus has no concept of hatred. But Puppeteer is now Traitor. It must be deleted._

Mickey jumped back and summoned his Keyblade again. "I won't let you! And Xion is a she!"

_Back down or face deletion._

"I don't think so."

Without warning, a blue beam shot out from one of the keys. Mickey did a backflip just in time to avoid it, and it hit the stairway. Five of the stairs near the spot it was hit at flickered and vanished, leaving a gaping hole in the path.

Mickey narrowed his eyes and turned to Xion. "You gotta get out of here!"

"…No." Xion walked up next to Mickey. "I don't want to be scared anymore."

"Run!"

"I said _no._" She stuck her hand out, bringing up the command console again. "Delete any data attacking the system."

The red pillars started to form again, but then the Unlocker shot another beam at the command console, making it turn red and display error messages. A male voice, harsher than the one from the plaza, boomed through the clocktower. _ERROR: Cannot delete Primary Operating Files without first deleting all other files._

"What? But…"

The Unlocker shot out another beam, and the voice sounded again. _Scanning for corrupt data._

Xion started glowing red. "No, no, no…"

_Running deletion program…_

A red orb started to take shape on the ceiling. Xion screamed and stuck her hand up in an attempt to shield herself. Mickey was about to jump over and cast Reflect, but then white light shot out from Xion, knocking him back and pushing the Unlockers away. When the pillar shot down, it actually bounced off her and hit the gears, causing them to vanish. Without a support structure, the ceiling collapsed, revealing the sky above. The sun had almost set completely, and stars dotted the heavens.

Xion's hand glowed, first white, then green. A Keyblade appeared in a flash of code. Mickey didn't recognize it. It was mostly green, with yellow wires strung across it like a circuit board. The handguard looked like it was just a hologram, and the main blade was a hollow half-circle with the number one sticking out of the center. The keychain was a green number zero, like the Unlocker insignia. It read _Source Code._

Mickey blinked. That didn't look like any Keyblade he had ever seen before, so it had to be real. But Xion was just data, and she hadn't shown any previous signs of Keyblade usage. So where did it come from?

There was no more time to think about that. At the sight of the Keyblade, the Unlockers teleported around Xion, surrounding her. Mickey ran towards her, but one of the enemies shot another blue beam, knocking out more stairs and forcing him back. But when the Unlockers all fired their lasers at once at Xion, she actually cast Reflect—a fairly advanced spell—causing the lasers to bounce back. All the Unlockers vanished.

For a second, Mickey thought they were safe, and jumped onto the 'platform' that Xion was now standing on. But then another wave of Unlockers, a whole dozen of the things, materialized and surrounded the platform. Three of them moved underneath the stairs, apparently to destroy the support beams of the stairs.

Xion reached for Mickey. "I have an idea, and it involves you!"

Mickey grabbed her hand. "We can do it!"

Xion threw Mickey into the horde, allowing him to swing at the Unlockers. Each swing did noticeable but only minimal damage, but the enemies turned red when hit, allowing a pillar of red to crash down on them and delete them. Through this process, most of the Unlockers were destroyed.

But there were still the ones whittling down the support beams to worry about. Mickey jumped back to Xion, hopping on her shoulder, and raised his Keyblade. "Light!"

Xion brought Source Code close to her chest and spoke as though there was no rush at all. "Run anti-virus."

A wall of red and white shot out from them, annihilating all of the remaining Unlockers. It stayed up for a few seconds, spinning around, growing and shrinking, before finally shooting out into its individual beams and dematerializing.

Mickey and Xion both jumped forward, getting off the platform of stairs and onto a more stable area. Xion sat down, panting like a real person would. Mickey ran over and offered a high-five. "Ya did great, Xion!"

Xion nodded. "I guess I did…" She summoned her new Keyblade to her hand. "Roxas had a couple things that looked like this. And so do you. What is it?"

Mickey held Xion's free hand. "It's called a Keyblade. It makes you very special. You should be proud of yourself."

"Keyblade…that feels…familiar…" Xion dropped the Keyblade and grabbed her head. "Wha—"

Mickey tugged on her arm, but she wouldn't respond. "Xion? Xion!"

0=0=0=0=0=0

_I hand the Keyblade back to Roxas. "Thanks. You can have this back."_

_Roxas smiles. "Did it help? Do you remember how it works now?"_

"_I don't know…let me give it another try."_

_I stick my hand out and concentrate. I can feel something, something familiar…there it is!_

_Roxas runs over and takes my hand, holding my Keyblade with me. "You did it!"_

_I hold the Keyblade with both hands and jump up and down. "I don't believe it! Roxas, it worked! Thank you so much!"_

"_I can't wait to see Axel's face when we tell him about this. C'mon!"_

"_Okay!"_

_I can't help but skip back to the RTC point. I feel this rush of excitement and relief. I have my Keyblade back! I'm not going to be Dusked! It's going to be okay!_

_And when I look at Roxas…I think I feel something else, too, but I don't know what it is…but it feels good. Really good._

"_Xion! Xion!"_

_Who's that?_

0=0=0=0=0=0

"Xion! Xion, wake up!"

Xion blinked, and the world came back to her. She turned to Mickey and jumped a bit. "…What happened?"

Mickey gave her a potion. "Ya spaced out for a second there. Looked like you were in some kinda trance."

Xion bit her lip, unsure if she should tell him. But she did trust him. "…I was dreaming. Didn't I could dream…"

"What were you dreaming about?"

"…Roxas was there…and I got a Keyblade that looked like yours. I think…" She shook her head. "No, that's stupid…"

Mickey patted her on the arm. "Go ahead."

Xion sighed. "…I think it was a memory. From…from the Real Thing."

"Real thing?"

Xion nodded. "Yeah. If she exists…" She closed her eyes and curled up again. "I think…I'm a mistake."

0=0=0=0=0=0

One long walk later, Riku felt no closer to his goals than he was a few hours ago.

Instead of leading to the World That Never Was—which may or may not have even still existed anyway—the portal now led to the void where he had fought Xemnas alongside Sora. He figured that, just like last time, if he walked far enough he would eventually hit the Realm of Darkness. But of course, last time they had happened upon it by pure chance. And it wasn't like this place had clear directions or a map. A sign reading _AQUA IS THIS WAY _would have been nice. Oh, well. He could make do.

Right?

"I can help you find what you seek."

Riku turned around to see a man in an Organization coat. He jumped back and summoned his Keyblade. "Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you right now."

"But I just did." The man snapped his fingers, and a portal opened, showing the beach and jagged rocks of the Realm of Darkness. "I can help you find what you seek."

Riku started to run for the portal, but just before he could pass the man, a pink scythe appeared in front of him. "Now, now," the man said mockingly. "Let's not get too hasty. No such thing as a free lunch."

Riku gritted his teeth. "What do you want?"

"Not much." The man started to reach for Riku's head. "Just a little name."

Riku jumped back again. He had a good guess as to what name he was talking about, and it wasn't his. "I'm not giving you anything until you tell me your own name!"

The man sighed and shook his head. "Very well. I am Lumaria."

Riku rearranged the letters in his head. Though Riku had never met him in person, Namine had told him all about this guy. "Also known as Marluxia?"

Lumaria seemed surprised that he recognized him. "…That man no longer exists. Nor did he ever exist. He was an imposter, really. But that is beside the point."

Riku narrowed his eyes. "Tell me exactly why you want this name."

"It was a mistake, boy. I'm correcting the mistake."

Riku made a flourish with his Keyblade. "Yeah, the kind of guy who calls people 'it' is not the kind of guy I give my memories to."

Lumaria chuckled. "But I am the one offering you what you need most. And besides…you were the first, maybe the only one outside the Organization to admit the mistake, weren't you?"

Riku remembered just how badly he had treated that girl, telling her she wasn't supposed to exist, encouraging her to end her own existence. He supposed this was an attempt to make him uncertain. Really, it just made him mad. "Not anymore. She was not a mistake."

Lumaria teleported behind Riku and whispered in his ear. "You can keep believing that if you wish. I can speak with truth that I'm only taking the name. The rest of your memories of it will remain intact. I'll give you something else to call it, anyway. I am a man of my word."

There was no way in Kingdom Hearts that Riku was going to trust this guy's word. But at the same time, he realized that this might be his only chance to get into the Realm of Darkness. It wasn't like he could attack Lumaria—the portal had been opened by him, and it would probably close if he was killed. Another dilemma. His life seemed full of those.

After a long moment, Riku sighed and closed his eyes, bringing his most vivid memories to the front of his mind. "I'm sorry…Xion."

Lumaria grinned and tapped Riku's forehead. A white-hot pain shot through Riku's whole body, and he screamed and fell to his knees, clutching his head with one hand. He could see the word in his eyes, but as he watched, it flickered, rearranged and became blurry. The girl's voice played in his head, only slightly louder than the static sound ringing in his ears—_Riku, Riku, no, no, no, no, no…don't…no…_

And then it was gone. And then a new name came to him. He knew it wasn't her real name, but he couldn't help but call her that. He hated it.

Riku got up and narrowed his eyes at Lumaria. "Got what you want?"

"Yes, I did." Lumaria teleported back to the portal and bowed, like a fancy person in a movie presenting a door. "Go ahead, now."

Riku looked him right in the eye as he walked into the portal. "Next time, I'll just kill you."

Lumaria smiled. "Then I hope that 'next time' won't be for a while."

Riku stepped through the portal, and it closed behind him, leaving him in the dark realm. He closed his eyes and checked his memories. Besides the new name, nothing seemed obviously missing or out of place. But then, how would he know? That stupid new name Lumaria had given the girl felt like it had always been her name, even though Riku knew it wasn't. What if Lumaria had planted more subtle differences that were just as important?

The more he thought about it, the more paranoid and anxious Riku got. If he couldn't trust his own memories, then what could he trust? Maybe this was Lumaria's true purpose—to instill a sense of fear into his heart. If so, he decided, he wouldn't let that jerk get his way.

He sighed and clutched his chest, pushing away the anxiety for the time being. "I'll remember your real name again soon…Mistake."

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**Yes, yes, lots of suspense and drama to go around. A good number of reveals. That's good for one chapter, I'll call it a night, holy pancake this one is long… :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading, and be sure to tune in for chapter nineteen! Chapter nineteen**_**…of possibly forty-five or more…THEN I GOTTA WRITE KH3… **_**:)**


	19. Chapter 19

**And now, in my latest speed update, chapter nineteen is here. Compared to the 3000-word gorilla I posted last time, this one is tiny, but it makes up for that by getting even darker, possibly verging on light horror. RequiemOfKingdomHearts has definitely rubbed off on me. That, or my lifelong anxiety is finally spilling out onto the page, and I'm learning exactly how screwed up my brain is. Maybe both…in any case, I am definitely feeling the darkness right now. Maybe I should write a horror story. Maybe I **_**already am… **_**:)**

**Enough about my screwed-up brain. We have a screwed-up chapter to get to!**

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**Unforgettable**

**Chapter XIX**

**Crazy**

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"_Hey, it's okay, don't cry. You aren't a mistake."_

"_But…I'm a virus…"_

"_That's okay."_

"…_Really?"_

"_Because you're more."_

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Having claws did have its uses, as Xion now realized. One of them was being able to climb on trees with doors attached to them.

Speaking of the claws, Namine finally noticed them, gripping them while being held in Xion's arms. "Where did these come from?"

Xion kept trying to lockpick Ventus' door with her free hand. "Um, I ran into some trouble…"

Namine squeezed the fingers tight. "I think they look kind of cool, to be honest."

Xion sighed. Clearly, Namine wasn't at full mental capacity yet. Under normal circumstances, she would have noticed earlier, and she most definitely would not have found them 'cool'. "I'm glad you think that," Xion muttered.

Namine cringed. "Did I say something wrong? I'm sorry. I get it if you don't like them…"

"No, no, it's okay. You just seem a little…off. Are you okay?"

"…I'm a little dizzy. But not 'pass-out' dizzy, more like 'spun-around-too-long' dizzy."

"Okay." Xion heard the lock click, and she pushed the door open and pulled herself and her passenger inside. "Can you stand?"

Namine sat down on the hardwood floor. "No…but I can sit up."

Xion patted Namine on the shoulder and took a look around the room. It seemed that Ventus was the only one who actually bothered to change his room, because this was nothing like how he had described his old bedroom. The whole room was brown wood, giving it an earthy feel. Actually, the more Xion examined the room, the more it looked like a log cabin at Christmastime. There was even a fireplace and a tree.

Xion chuckled a bit. "Wish I could make my room like this…"

Namine looked around, her eyes only half-open. "How did he do this, though?"

"Well, I know that if I was alone for ten years, I'd be pretty bored. Boredom gets things done."

Xion walked over to the desk and pulled the drawer out, rifling through papers. There was a journal, which she decided to flip through for clues. Of course, she'd usually consider this an unacceptable invasion of privacy, but this was an emergency. She flipped to a random page.

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_Day 4015_

_Roxas came today. Xion was there to see him woke up. He…walked straight through her. She cried a lot today. It was hard to watch. She still loves him quite a bit. They're both great kids, and they are adorable together. Too bad things had to end the way they did._

_Anyway, I headed up top. Sora's awake and fully functional. All the emotions looked pretty frantic, but they'll be fine. Now all that's left is for Sora to get out of this town, and we can get things rolling again. Maybe getting some payback at the Organization will cheer Xion up._

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Xion bit her lip. The days just after Roxas came back had been pretty hard for her, and this brought back some bad memories. She shook her head and focused on the important thing—apparently, there was a place 'up top' where emotions lived. She flipped back a few pages, looking for more information.

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_Day 4009_

_Of course, now that Xion is here and I have someone to talk to for the first time in a year, NOW I find out about the door to Sora's mind and five freaking conversationalists. Because my life is just so lucky, isn't it? In any case, these five seem pretty important. Each represents an emotion—Sadness, Anger, Fear, Disgust and Joy. They all look like interesting people, and they all have very important jobs—although they haven't had much to do except put memories back in their proper place since Castle Oblivion. I'm going to have to keep an eye on them—anything that affects Sora affects me._

_I thought about telling Xion about them…but I decided against it. We're probably going to have a couple new 'passengers' soon, and I'd like to stay in management position. Roxas won't be happy once he gets here, and I don't know what he would do if he knew everything about Sora's heart. This place has a lot of secrets. I'm their keeper, and now I have someone to keep from._

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And suddenly, Xion knew why Ventus had never let them in here before.

She flipped through page after page, learning more and more.

_Day 4000. I summoned a giant roller coaster. I wonder what else I can summon? _

_Day 3977. I got my Keyblade to transform into a glider for the first time since I got here. I didn't even know it could still do that. The island looks great from the air._

_Day 3650. Ten years in. Can't believe it's been so long. Kairi visited briefly. Of course, she had no idea who I was, but I was able to comfort her until she got back out a few minutes later. It was nice having someone to talk to. I just wish she would remember me._

_Day 3651. Kairi left a herd of flying dolphins. I managed to tame them—they'll come to my call. But they mostly just roam the ocean, without using their flying powers. They're pretty. I've decided to call them Lingering Dreams._

Xion's horror grew. She had never known Ventus could do any of this stuff, or that he had ever met Kairi. How much was he hiding from her…from everyone? And why? She worked hard to push down the feelings of anger and betrayal growing inside her. Sure, these certainly weren't 'you're-a-replica' level things, but they sure would have been useful knowledge before. Maybe Vanitas wouldn't have gotten so far. Maybe Xion would have been able to fight him better. Or maybe she and Namine at least know where to go now.

She screamed and threw the journal against a wall. Her voice became echoed, like her Anti Form. _"I hate him! Why didn't he tell us? WHY?!"_

Namine covered her ears and whimpered. "Stop, stop, stop…"

Xion tried to stop, but she just went from yelling words to making hellish shrieking noises that hurt her own ears. She ran to her table, split it in half with her claws and started tearing up the room. She had no idea she was capable of this kind of rage. It felt like all the lies in her life were crashing down on her. Her vision turned yellow…

And then she heard the sound of a Keyblade summoning behind her. She spun around and brandished her teeth and claws, growling like a wild animal, ready to tear apart whoever or whatever was threatening her.

She gasped when she realized it was Namine.

The girl was pointing a Keyblade straight at her with both hands, one she didn't recognize. For the most part, it looked like what the Kingdom Key would look like if it was white and had Oathkeeper's handle. The main edge was a blue Castle Oblivion card with a heart on one side and a keyhole on the other. The keychain was a Papau Fruit, with three words written on the leaf: _Chain of Promises._

Namine was looking away and hyperventilating. "Please stop it. Please, please, please stop it. This is so scary. I can't stand seeing you like this. Please stop it…"

All of Xion's thoughts jumbled into a big pile, and then she went blank, as if her mind had simply crashed. She collapsed, letting herself fall like a ragdoll, not even bothering to curl up. For the first time since her earliest days in the Organization, Xion felt absolutely nothing.

Namine bent down and held her, checking for a pulse. "Xion? Xion, please, I'm sorry. Xion, please wake up. Xion."

And then Xion started laughing. It started as a quiet chuckle, but soon grew to a loud, continuous roar that sucked the air from her lungs. She felt tears in her eyes, and she couldn't tell whether they were tears of joy or of sadness. But it wasn't like she cared anyway.

Namine's eyes widened, and distress was clear in her voice. "Xion? Xion, are you okay?"

Xion shook her head, still laughing. "No, Namine, don't be sad…don't be sad. Or scared." She sat up. "I'm free. I'm finally free."

"Free? What do you mean?"

Xion pulled Namine into a tight hug. "I've been trying so hard to keep myself from going crazy…I repressed all my feelings, I put on a smile that I didn't feel, I pretended to be getting better. I'm sorry I pretended…but it's okay now. I don't have to worry about it anymore."

Namine just hugged back and whispered into her ear. "Why?"

"Because I already _am _crazy, Namine! I'm crazy! I'm so, so crazy!"

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**Told you my brain was screwed up. :P**

**I would like to take a moment to do some gushing and more thanks. To be honest, Unforgettable is my baby. I am basically writing a whole novel, and I love seeing every chapter pour out of my fingers. This is the story that puts me on the verge of crying while writing it. This is the story that makes me excited to see every single fan theory and piece of fanart, because I get to mine it for more ideas. This is the story that makes me feel at home. And part of the reason why is because I have the support of all of you amazing people. I'd like to give special thanks to Mathmagican, RequiemOfKingdomHearts, v.t.7, Tasharous, TTY7, my wonderful girlfriend and all of my other regulars. Thank you so much for making this journey so great. Also, don't kill me if I misspelled anything. :)**

**Okay, gushing done. :) In other news, I would like to announce that you can follow me on Tumblr at xionobsessed (surprising username, am I right? :P). In addition to All Sea-Salt Trio All The Time (with the occasional meme thrown in), you can find my real first name, my random musings and ideas, all my mushy love poems for Lindsay, fanfic I don't post here for one reason or another, the occasional *cough*whenever someone makes a sacrifice to the RokuShi gods*cough* selfie, and more. GOOOOOOOOOO! I guess I can't MAKE you…unless I harness Xion's mind control powers… :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading, and be sure to tune in for chapter twenty!**


	20. Chapter 20

**CHAPTER TWENTY! MILESTONE CHAPTER! *champagne* Expect more frequent updates soon, because I'm going to try to complete this story before November. I have my work cut out for me, don't I? :P But if I can do it, I'll be able to dedicate this year's NaNoWriMo to a fanfic project! That'll be fun for everyone! Plus, you won't have to go a month without updates. :)**

**Anyway! This chapter is half scary, half fluffy. It also explains why Namine is in Sora's heart (turns out, that's not canon :P). Enjoy!**

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**Unforgettable**

**Chapter XX**

**Who We Are**

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"_Master, the plan continues on schedule. But I am confused on an aspect of it."_

"_Truly? What seems to trouble you?"_

"_Why can't we just erase that wretched puppet completely?"_

"_Ah. I expected that question. But do not forget that puppets can be very useful."_

"_What purpose could it possibly serve us at this point?"_

"_Simple. Bait. A container of his most important memories is the greatest bait of all."_

"_But Master—"_

"_Quiet, now. You must learn to trust me. I promised you the moon, Isa. The moon you shall receive."_

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Interestingly enough, fighting mind control was a lot like fighting the urge to go back to sleep in the morning. It was just a lot scarier and slightly more painful.

Even as Roxas let the words spill out of his mouth like liquid, he narrowed his eyes and scowled at Vanitas. "She tricked me into letting her escape. I'm sorry."

Vanitas snorted, making a smile as if he had much better things to be doing with his day. "Sorry, huh? I want to see your sorrow."

Without meaning to, Roxas bit his lip and bowed his head. "I really am sorry. I…I failed you."

"Yeah, you did. And I haven't gotten enough sorrow out of you yet to make up for it." Vanitas walked over to Roxas, grabbed his head with one hand and lifted him up, squeezing tight. "This should do it…"

Roxas' head started _burning, _an intense flame in his mind. All the worst moments in his life flashed before his eyes. Most of them involved Xion. He wanted to recall the happy memories, the good times, the ice cream and sunsets, but he couldn't bring those memories up for more than a second, and they were never vivid like the bad memories he was seeing. Within a few seconds of this, he began to cry, something that soon became severe sobbing.

Vanitas' voice rang through his head. "Listen up. If you betray me, I won't leave you with any memories. And if I do generously leave a few, it'll be the dark ones. You'll forget Puppet, Axel and everyone else who you ever cared about. Your whole mind will be shattered. Do you want that?"

Roxas screamed, his voice echoing. _"No!"_

"Then accept the fact that I control you."

Vanitas let go, and Roxas dropped to the ground, whimpering. "My memories are mine," he whispered. "Not yours…"

"And they'll stay yours as long as you keep following my orders." Vanitas snapped his fingers, and Roxas stood up. "You are going to find Puppet and Witch and bring them back to me."

Roxas managed a question through the haze that the nightmare had left him in. "Will you…hurt them?"

Vanitas looked out toward the ocean. "Depends on your behavior."

"I…I understand."

Roxas started to walk off, but Vanitas grabbed his hand. He felt a blast of pure pain shoot through him, starting with his palm. When it finally subsided and Vanitas let go, Roxas could see that a letter X had been burned into his hand, black and still stinging.

Vanitas gathered a ball of darkness in his hand and shot it out at the ocean. Soon, it struck the water, and a shadowy form began to rise up. It took the shape of a massive wolf, brandishing its teeth and claws. When it howled, the whole island shook, and Roxas had to cover his ears in a futile attempt to escape that painful, mind-piercing sound. It was like everyone in the worlds had screamed at the top of their lungs all at once.

Vanitas seemed to revel in the sound. "You know, according to the light, you technically aren't allowed to hate anyone, even the worst people. All life has value and all that."

Roxas shook his head. "No…you can stand up against bad things…"

"In theory. In practice, if you don't hate anyone or anything, you aren't going to stand up for or against anything. Darkness is just who we are, Roxas."

"Why…why are you talking about this?"

"Oh, don't you get it?" Vanitas pointed at the wolf. "This is the embodiment of all of your hatred for Xemnas, Saix, Sora…even me. Darkness is much, much more practical, you see…"

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When Namine heard that _noise, _she screamed and covered her ears. She and Xion were making their way through the jungle to the other side of the island, and she couldn't see where the noise was coming from, but it seemed to drill its way into her head nonetheless. It stirred up hatred she had forgotten—for DiZ, for Marluxia, even a mild, short-lived resentment she had had one night at Kairi for existing when she didn't get to. But mostly, she hated herself.

When she opened her eyes, Xion was shaking her. "Namine! Namine!"

Namine failed her arms around, getting Xion to let go of her, and rubbed her head. It was still throbbing. "You…heard that, right?"

Xion nodded. "Yeah, I did, but you passed out. You've been out for at least a minute."

"…Huh?" Namine rubbed her face. "Can't have been more than a few seconds…"

Xion sat down next to her and massaged her head with one hand. "Time feels weird when you wake up from passing out. I know how it feels. Sometimes, I would close my eyes for what I thought was a second, just to rest them, and when I opened them again I would be in my room and I would feel all groggy."

Namine rested her head on Xion's shoulder. "How can you stand it?"

"Um…I would just sigh and move on, really."

She shook her head. "No, I mean that horrible scream."

Xion thought about it. "…The scream itself wasn't that bad, just startling. It was like a jumpscare in a scary movie. And the feelings…did you feel things? Like hating everything?"

"Yes. Including myself…"

"Yeah, I hated myself, too." Xion pulled her legs up and hid her face. "What I did was that I acknowledged the feeling…I just stood there and let myself feel it…then it just went away."

Namine held Xion's hand. "Okay. That's a good way to deal with emotions. Keep doing that."

Xion smiled and turned to her. "Thank you. I was kind of proud of myself, really. I came up with it in that moment, just out of nowhere."

Namine smiled back. "Maybe insanity has its benefits."

Xion pumped her fist. "I knew it!"

Namine patted her shoulder. "Hey, if it happens again, don't shake me like that, okay? Just use a healing spell."

Xion went pale and looked down. "I-I'm sorry, d-d-did I hurt you, I'm sorry…"

Namine cringed. She had forgotten that Xion was in a fragile emotional state at the moment. She pulled Xion close and wiped away the tears starting to form in her eyes. "Hey, don't cry. It's okay, I'm not mad at you. You didn't hurt me. It's okay."

Xion sighed. "One of the things I don't like about being insane is how much I feel everything. I like feeling, but this is too much…"

"Just keep doing what you did with the scream, okay? Just let yourself feel it, then let it go."

Xion curled up into Namine, purring like a cat. "I feel like an animal…"

Namine stroked her hair. "And that's okay. Everything's okay. You need some rest, so just sleep."

"Wait…" Xion held Namine's arm. "I wanna see your Keyblade again."

Namine summoned Chain of Promises again and handed it to Xion, who just reached her hand out to feel it. "It's pretty," she said, tapping her fingers on the blade.

"Thank you." Namine sighed. "I don't know if I can keep it, though."

Xion looked up. "Why wouldn't you be able to keep it?"

"I think it really belongs to Kairi."

Xion shook her head vigorously, tickling Namine a bit since she was still pressed into her belly. "No. It's yours. You summoned it first. You're a person, you get to have a Keyblade."

Namine chuckled, first at the tickling, then at Xion's encouragement. "Thank you. That means a lot, really. But I'm not even supposed to be in Sora's heart in the first place, okay? I belong with Kairi, and I'm okay with that."

Xion kept tapping the blade, seeming to enjoy the motion. "Then how did you get here?"

Namine considered how to explain. "I'm…connected to Sora, too. So I can technically move between his heart and Kairi's whenever I want. But it takes a lot of energy—when I arrive, I have to be sure there's a bed to fall into because I'll be asleep within thirty seconds."

Xion giggled. "That's funny. And falling asleep is fun."

Namine scratched her head. "You know…I never thought about it before, but I guess it is a little fun to watch myself when I'm sleepy. Anyway, that's why I don't travel often."

Xion bit her lip. "You should go home."

Namine nodded. "Once we get to the safe place, I will."

"Why not now?"

"Because you still need me. Once we get there, there will be five people to take care of you. Right now, I'm the only one."

Xion sat up. "I can handle myself!"

Namine held Xion's chest gently but firmly. "You're sick. I know you don't feel like you are, but insanity can get really ugly, really fast. I need you to be calm and rest a bit."

Xion crossed her arms. "We don't have time for that! What, are you trying to be a doctor?"

"Since we have no actual doctors, and Ventus is out of commission, I'm the next best thing." Namine rubbed Xion's arms. "Hey, we have more time than you think. It's a big island, and we're pretty deep into the jungle. It'll take them a while to find us. You can rest."

Xion muttered so low that Namine had to concentrate to make out the words. "I wanna rest, but if I do, he might control me again…"

Namine nodded. "Okay. I hear that." She concentrated and gripped Xion's arms tight. "Slow," she said, as if making a declaration.

Xion blinked and reached to cover her mouth. The movement was sluggish. "…What did you do?" she asked, her voice deep and drawn out.

"Something Ventus taught me. Now you can rest without falling asleep."

After a moment, Xion smiled. "Once this is all over…I get to play pranks on you with this."

Namine smiled back. "Fair. But the reverse is true, too."

"You wouldn't."

"Never underestimate me."

Both girls laughed, and once again, things didn't seem so bad. Namine noticed that Xion made her feel better a lot…

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**I had to end with the fluffy, you see. It makes me feel better. :)**

**Quick message: It is totally okay to PM me with your wild, essay-length KH fan theories, because I am so mining that stuff for ideas. If you want to send me things like fanart, you can do that via Tumblr. Trust me, If I want to get the story done before November, I'm going to need all the help I can get. Let loose the ideas, friends! :D**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading, and keep watching for chapter twenty-one, with Kairi and Lea!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Warning: This chapter contains a very flashy battle sequence. Please wear some kind of protection, such as sunglasses, 3D glasses or a Xion cosplay outfit. :) This chapter was a lot of fun to write, and I'm quite proud of it. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Note that it does not have Kairi or Lea as promised, because it is so darn long. Don't worry, they'll get their chapters soon. Anyway! Enough hyping! Have at it!**

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**Unforgettable**

**Chapter XXI**

**With You**

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"_It seems our hand is the winning one this round. The enemy is spread thin, and their leader is demoralized."_

"_All as I planned. Now, I have a task for you, my Gambler."_

"_And what would that be?"_

"_It seems that the Princess has traveled in time. I need you to…guide her."_

"…_You truly are good at this game."_

"_I played many games of chess as a child. And I often won. Is conspiracy not simply chess with more pieces?"_

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Pain. Simple, pure, unrelenting pain. This was the only thing that Roxas felt. Well, there was one other thing. Purpose.

He walked through the jungle with slow precision, as if the ground shook with every step. Behind him was a troop of Shadows and Unversed. Roxas found that he could understand them. Although the Heartless just made animal growls and murmurs of killing and feasting, the Unversed were a bit more expressive. They shouted tactical orders to each other and the Heartless, making them a single cohesive unit, marching forward and tearing apart all life in its path.

Roxas could hear one of the Unversed speaking in his mind. _Nobody likes you. Even our Creator despises you. But we like you._

Roxas adjusted his hood and kept staring straight ahead. "Be quiet and find Xion," he whispered.

_We last sensed Puppet and its friend moving toward the other side of the island._

Roxas clenched his fists. "Don't call her Puppet."

_But it is what Creator calls it._

Without hesitation, Roxas summoned Oathkeeper and sliced the weak Unversed clean in half, making it disappear. He snapped his fingers to call another over. "Tell the others that they'll get the same treatment as that one if they keep calling her that."

Having dealt with that problem, Roxas kept walking. For the millionth time since he started walking, he mentally ran over his memories. He figured that Vanitas' continued use of the term 'Puppet' was an attempt to dehumanize her and foster obedience…but he had never associated the name with her for a second. Whenever someone used the term, he just imagined a literal puppet in his mind, which he was watching Xion smash to bits while screaming _NOT ME. _He had studied several books on the psychology of memory since he met Xion again, and he was bringing all the tricks to bear now.

He emerged from the jungle. He had only been to this part of the island once before. It was basically a playground, and he didn't play games. But Namine loved this place, so he figured it was as good a place as any to check. He climbed up the main tower and took a look around.

And there they were, Xion and Namine, just coming around the corner or the rocks. Roxas silently steeled himself for the task, snapped his fingers and teleported in front of the two, along with a dozen Shadows. He had to admit, the Darkness was at least convenient.

Namine gasped. "Roxas?!"

Roxas sighed. "Yes. Vanitas needs you two to come back."

Xion stepped back, shielding Namine with one hand and brandishing the claws of the other. "Roxas, I told you to fight!"

Roxas closed his eyes. "I know. But if you don't do it voluntarily, I'll have to hurt you. I don't have a choice. Please don't make me do that…"

"Don't give me that!" Xion shoved Roxas so hard that he fell to the ground. She looked like she didn't mean to push that hard, but she didn't look sorry, either. "It's Vanitas you need to be hurting! And you _do _have a choice!"

Roxas felt tears coming to his eyes, but he pushed them back as best he could and got up. "Xion…I can't…I can't forget you again. Please. He'll take away my memories if I don't bring you back." He reached for Xion, even as she stepped away. "Please, please, please come back…"

For a moment, Xion seemed to waver, and Roxas had hope. But then her face contorted into an expression of betrayal. She shook her head. "Roxas…I love you…I really do…but you are being selfish. So, so selfish."

Roxas stepped back. "What…?"

"You aren't keeping those memories for me. You know full well there are lots of other people who can still hold those memories. No, you want those memories for _yourself." _Xion's voice cracked, and words she emphasized echoed. "You think that if you lose those memories, you'll lose your own _sanity, _and you _rationalize _it by saying it's all for me."

Roxas shook his head. "No…that's not it…no…"

"You've told yourself the _lie _so many times that you've started to _believe it!" _All of Xion's voice echoed now. _"I'm going to tell you something right now. Those memories aren't for YOU. They're for US. And I need you to forget me so that we'll ALL be safe!"_

Roxas' head was swirling. "But…if I forget you…"

"_Roxas. You remembered me the first time. You can remember me again. The heart never forgets, Roxas."_

Roxas felt something deep down inside himself, something he didn't want to accept. It was the sense that Xion was right. He stuttered. "I…I…I just…I'm just trying to…"

Xion stared straight into Roxas' eyes. The echo left her voice as she calmed down. "I never thought I'd say this. But please forget me. You'll remember me soon…but right now, forgetting me is for the best. I know it hurts, but if you bring us to that Vanitas guy, you'll just hurt us. Roxas, please forget me."

Roxas closed his eyes. Several flashbacks were coming to him now, but the one that mattered most now shone through.

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_*BZZT*_

_Her…her…I want her…I just want her…_

"_Roxas, don't be sad."_

_Who…you!_

"_I came from you and Sora. I am you, the same way that I am Sora."_

_But…okay. If you're okay with that…so am I._

"_You'll forget me…"_

_No, no, no, no…_

"…_But the memories themselves will never go away."_

…

"_Memories of you and me will always be together…forever, inside him."_

…_Okay._

_Hey…goodbye._

_Xion._

_*BZZT*_

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Roxas could hear the whispers of the Unversed in his mind. _If you forget her, she will surely vanish. She has gone mad. Do not let her fade away._

Roxas turned to the whole group, now behind him. A few more had spawned, seeming to react to his fear and anguish.

_Save the girl with the seashells._

He took his seashell out of his pocket and stared at it, taking in every detail, remembering the time he had gotten it well.

_SAVE HER._

Then he gripped it tight and summoned his Keyblade. "Shut up!"

He threw the seashell into the air and raised up the Keyblade. A beam of light shot down from the seashell, enwrapping the three Nobodies in a dome of light. Roxas could feel power rising in him, new knowledge entering his mind. And he heard Xion's voice. _Don't be scared. I'm going to help you._

Roxas closed his eyes. "Okay. I love you."

_I love you, too._

The dome of light subsided. Roxas raised his hand in the air, and a new Keyblade appeared. It was not the familiar Oblivion. It's handle was similar, but it was blue on one side and white on the other. The shaft continued with this color scheme, with little hearts instead of Oblivion's chains. The main edge was the same seashell that Roxas had held before, enlarged. It's keychain was the original seashell, with a new word printed on it.

_Remembrance._

Roxas smiled. "Perfect." He turned around. "Namine, you should—huh?"

Namine had summoned her own Keybalde now. "I'll back you up…but I'm not good with it, okay?"

"That's fine with me."

Roxas looked back at the group. He estimated about a thousand Heartless and a thousand Unversed. He was not scared one bit. Determination against impossible odds, after all, was a Sora trait. And he was one with Sora.

This was a battle for Sora. For everyone.

For Xion.

Roxas charged, tearing into the group with Oathkeeper and Remembrance. The Keyblades cut down the front line immediately. Ten, twenty, thirty, more and more. Roxas never lost count. Namine, he noticed, was doing better than she thought she would. When a Novashadow pounced toward her, she stabbed at it, causing it to vanish just like the rest of them. Still, Roxas was doing most of the work. But he was fine with that.

A few of the Shadows formed a vertical wall and rushed at him, but he simply sliced through the lower group, bringing the whole pile toppling down and allowing easy pickings. When four of these walls were formed to all sides of him and charged him all at once, he jumped up and threw both Keyblades into the ground, creating a shockwave and destroying enemies for fifty feet around him. He added them to the kill count—270 now.

Roxas realized that Namine wasn't doing so well. Some of the Unversed were whispering into her mind, stunning her. Roxas could hear them. _You're nothing but a witch. You don't belong here. Go away, Witch. Go away._

Just before Roxas could jump in and slice through the Unversed like butter, Namine pulled her Keyblade close. "_You _go away!"

A wave of light shot out from Namine. The Unversed made the sound of paper ruffling just before exploding into little drawings of themselves. Roxas couldn't help but smile, partially because he found it slightly comical, but mostly because he could tell that Namine was going to make it through this. He added the destroyed Unversed to the count—497—and continued the rampage.

Roxas dashed from enemy to enemy, slicing through them one by one. He was moving so fast that a trail of sparks was following him, making him look like a human comet. He had done this during his battle with Sora. It was exhilarating. But three Novashadows stabbed at him and broke his chain. He grimaced and raised up Remembrance. It transformed, becoming a blue, glowing silhouette of Xion. The 'ghost' held Roxas' hand, and he lead her through the battlefield. She shot out beams of light at enemies when directed.

Roxas grinned. He really liked Remembrance.

When the charge was complete, the silhouette transformed back into a Keyblade and reentered Roxas' hand. He did a quick mental count—1,314 down, 686 to go—and kept chopping away at the enemy, turning them into cat food. By now, most of the smaller enemies were down. All the Shadows were gone, and it was just Novashadows in the Heartless group. Just like old times.

Six of the Novashadows pushed Namine toward the ocean, but she didn't look scared. In fact, it was almost as if she was _leading _them to the water. When her sandals actually entered it, she stuck her Keyblade out toward it. "Come," she whispered.

Within seconds, giant dolphins shot out of the water, a whole pod of them. They flew through the air, raining down beams of light on whatever unfortunate opponent happened to be underneath them at the time. When they hit the jungle, they turned around and did it again. They repeated this seven times before splashing back into the water.

Roxas called to Namine. "You're doing great!"

Namine called back. "Thanks!"

There weren't many opponents left now—just 342 more. But they were getting more organized and aggressive, clearly realizing that their situation was worsening at an exponential rate. They started tearing into Roxas and Namine, actually doing good damage. Both Nobodies were pushed into the center, surrounded.

Roxas cast Cure on both of them. "I have an idea that is half fun, half stupid."

Namine got into guard position. "Those are usually the best ideas, I hear."

"Then I'm doing it."

Roxas stabbed his Keyblades into the ground. Two large teacups, strung with multicolored lights, rose up out of the ground. Roxas and Namine hopped in, and the teacups spun around with incredible speed, ripping the remaining enemies to shreds. Roxas considered himself a very mature person, but in this case, the little child still in him took over, and he laughed a real laugh at the speed.

The teacups vanished, and the Nobodies got ready to charge into battle again. The reason for this was simple.

Nothing left to charge at.

Roxas sent his Keyblades off, and he felt something leaving his body. Xion popped out and fell to her knees, laughing. Roxas held her shoulder. "Xion?"

Xion didn't stop laughing. "I feel great! You two…you're amazing!"

Roxas looked at Namine, who just gave him a shrug, then back down at Xion. "Thanks. I'm…pretty proud of myself, to be honest."

"Good!" Xion laughed even more. "Can you tell I'm nuts yet?"

Roxas snorted. "Maybe a little."

"A little? But I'm a _lot _nuts! And it's the best!"

Roxas pulled her up and gave her a hug. "I'm just glad your okay."

Xion returned the hug. "Don't be scared, okay? Whatever happens, I'm with you. Always. Don't be scared. Promise me."

"I promise."

With that, Xion summoned Remembrance to her hand and pointed it at the door to the large shack at the end of the beach. The door creaked open, revealing a strange elevator. All three walked toward the elevator, and Xion stepped in.

Namine nodded to both of them. "I have to go back to Kairi now. Stay safe, okay, Xion? Don't push yourself too much. Do what the people there say. Promise?"

Xion grinned. "On doctor's orders!"

Namine smiled. "And an apple a day," she chirped as she opened a pink portal.

"Got it!"

As Namine left, she held Roxas' arm and whispered into his ear. "Be strong, okay?"

Roxas nodded. "Okay."

Namine left, and Roxas held Xion's hand. "Can I go with you?" he asked.

Xion shook her head. "I wish you could. But Ventus needs help. I need you to save him for me."

Roxas gripped Xion's hand a little tighter, not wanting to close his eyes. "…All right. I'll save Ventus."

"Good." She pulled a seashell out of her pocket, carved a few words into it with her claws (even though they weren't nearly as pronounced as before) and handed it to Roxas. It read _The girl you're thinking of is Shion. _"So you won't be scared," she said, smiling. "Right pronunciation, wrong spelling. That way, your brain won't filter it out. Does that make you feel better?"

Roxas read the words a few times, then stuck the shell in his pocket. "Yeah…that actually makes me feel a lot better."

"Perfect." Xion planted a tiny kiss on Roxas' forehead. "I love you."

Roxas blushed and smiled. "I love you, too."

And with that, Xion stepped back and let the elevator doors close. The door to the shack closed and locked shut, and suddenly, Roxas noticed how alone he was.

He clutched his chest. "I'm with you too, Xion. I'm with you, too."

0=0=0=0=0=0

**You may now take off your protective gear, unless it's a Xion cosplay, in which case you are to take pictures and send them to me in a package with the materials and instructions for wearing them. I don't even care that I'm a boy, I'm doing that cosplay. :D**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading, and keep watching for chapter twenty-two!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Welcome to chapter twenty-two! This thing certainly took long enough. Lea and Kairi have eluded me, but I can come back to them soon. For now, we return to Data Xion, followed by the first major Disney world reveal. Yes, twenty-two chapters in, we finally get to genuine Disney! I hope you enjoy.**

**DISCLAIMER: This work will include several Disney worlds not included in the original games, and therefore not covered by the original disclaimer. All Disney properties belong to Disney (duh). I do not stand to profit from this work in any way. Next time, I'm just including everything in one big disclaimer. :P**

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**Unforgettable**

**Chapter XXII**

**Pretty Mirror**

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"_Creator, we have been devastated. Puppet and Witch have escaped."_

"_Whatever. We've got Ventus, and that's what we really want."_

"_The Other is coming for you."_

"_Good. It'll be a lot more fun with him fighting back."_

0=0=0=0=0=0

Mickey probably should have thought about the fact that the computer in the mansion was smashed up. His brain seemed to be failing him quite a bit today.

He sighed and turned to Data Xion. "Can you do anything with this?"

Xion looked confused. "What's the problem?"

Mickey blinked. "…We can't use the computer 'cause it's broken."

"Yes we can." Xion brought up the command console again and pointed at the computer. "Extract all files from this data."

After a moment of loading, folders floated through the air from the broken console to the menu. Mickey smiled. "You're real good at this."

Xion clenched her fists and bit her lip. "Yeah…I am."

Mickey decided not to push her and instead looked over the files with her. The first few files chronicled the time that the real Roxas spent in this place, a story Mickey hadn't known before. He figured that Roxas would have been disappointed to learn that the account wasn't very interesting reading—it was a debug console, and mostly just displayed incomprehensible code, XYZ coordinates of literally everything and the occasional line of dialogue, interspersed with error message after error message. Actually, the file on 'Day 006' was _all _error messages. This trend continued with further files, with the messages getting more and more cryptic as the date got closer and closer to the present.

Finally, in the last file, Mickey spotted something. _ERROR 999-004: Foreign entity detected. _This error repeated over and over in the file, along with _COMMAND CONSOLE ACCESSED _and _DATA DELETED. _He looked up. "This must be it."

Xion clicked on the first error message, bringing up details. "I should have checked this one first."

"Can ya read it?"

"Yeah…" Xion stared at the gibberish on the 'screen', sticking her tongue out in concentration. "It says I came in from a link…wait, that's it…"

Xion walked over to the wall and tapped it in various spots, as if typing in a code. After a second, a simple white door appeared, with the word _Journal _written on it in blue letters. Xion waved Mickey over. "This will take us to Roxas."

Mickey tilted his head. "Didn't you say Roxas sent you here?"

Xion rubbed her arms, as if she were cold. "Yes…will he be mad?"

Mickey smiled and held Xion's hand. "Ya said he did it to protect you. He must like you a lot. I'm sure he'll get it."

Xion smiled. "Okay."

With that, Xion opened the door, and both stepped through. It was much brighter, and it took Mickey a second for his eyes to adjust. When they did, he found himself in the halls of Castle Oblivion, just in front of a huge doorway. Xion pushed it open, revealing a white room with an egg-like pod in the center. Mickey saw Data Namine walking around the room with a hooded boy—probably Data Roxas.

Roxas turned around. "Sora, not right—…" When he saw Xion, he froze. "Xi…Xion? What's going on? Why are you here?"

Xion raised her hands. "Don't be mad, okay? Twilight Town was dangerous." She pointed to Mickey. "This is my friend."

Roxas walked over and loomed over Mickey, as if inspecting the mouse. "…Oh. You."

Mickey crossed his arms, refusing to be intimidated. "You remember me, huh?"

"Yeah." He turned back to Xion. "Get him out. He doesn't belong here."

Xion cringed. "Um…I'm sorry…"

"It's fine, just send him back and—"

"Hey!" Mickey jumped up to get Roxas' attention. "Why can't I be here?"

Roxas rolled his eyes. "We have enough problems as it is without a Real Thing in here." He tried to shove Mickey. "Out."

Mickey didn't even budge—pretty impressive for a mouse. "I made a promise to Xion."

Roxas was silent for a moment. "…What promise?"

Mickey considered the question. Any possible answer seemed like a losing situation. After a moment, he turned to Xion. "Do ya want to tell him?

Xion took a deep breath and walked over to Roxas, holding his arm. "Listen…do you know why I was able to access the command console when I got here?"

Mickey blinked—didn't Xion say that Roxas taught her? Roxas considered Xion's question. "…No. I thought that maybe you were a bug. A bug I was happy to keep around."

Xion sighed. "I'm…I'm a virus. Actually…I'm _the _Virus."

Roxas stared at her for several long seconds. "…What?"

"I was the leader of the Glitches…I was sent by the Coder to cause as much damage as possible. But then I met you…I was supposed to get your guard down…but you were so nice to me…" Xion leaned her head on Roxas' shoulder and started to cry. "I'm sorry…I'm so, so sorry…"

Roxas stood, staring at Xion weeping into his shoulder. He seemed to be in a state of shock. Namine started to walk over, but Roxas held his palm out to her, making her stop. Mickey sighed. He had the feeling that Roxas was not taking this as well as his emotionless face made it out to be.

After a long time, Roxas held Xion on the cheek. "Mirror…my pretty Mirror…you used to be a fantasy from someone else's shattered memories, and now you're here…" He pulled Xion into a hug. "No way am I letting you go. Even if you are a virus."

Mickey smiled. But then he fully comprehended that sentence.

_No way am I letting you go._

Mickey sighed and held Roxas' free hand, making him look down. "Roxas…the thing is, ya have to let us go."

Roxas scowled. "Why?"

Xion held Roxas' cheek, the same way he had hers. "Roxas…I'm homesick. I'm going home. Back to my disc. That's the promise."

Roxas was silent again. Then he gave Xion a tight squeeze, let go of her, turned to Mickey…

…And summoned his Keyblades.

"What did you do to her?"

Mickey blinked and stepped back. "You don't want to—"

Roxas yelled with all the might of an army. _"What did you do to her?!"_

Mickey jumped back. "Nothing! She made this decision on her own."

"You expect me to _believe _that?" Roxas stepped closer, taking swipes at Mickey and forcing him against the wall. "When Xion got here, I was going to make everything perfect. We were going to be together forever, and we were going to be _happy. _Then the Virus came, and I had to send Xion away. And now some _Real Thing _comes along, and she suddenly wants to go 'home'. I bet you sent the Virus to split us apart!"

Namine called from a safe distance. "Roxas, you're being paranoid."

Roxas glared at Namine. "I bet you know all about paranoia, being the one who sent the bugs the first time."

"Roxas, stop it."

"You stop it!" Roxas screamed. "We're just data, Namine. The Real Things think we're toys. Well, it's about time I knocked some sense into one of them."

Namine stepped back. "You're upsetting Xion," she said, putting as much authority in her voice as she could.

Roxas turned around. Indeed, Xion was covering her ears and cowering near the pod crying. Roxas sent his Keyblades off and ran over to her. "Hey, hey, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been so loud, it's okay, shhh, it's okay, shhh…"

Mickey narrowed his eyes at Roxas. He could only think of one word, a word he couldn't help but play over and over in his head. _Possessive._

Xion sniffled. "Why are you being mean to him?"

Roxas held Xion on the shoulders. "Because I want to keep you safe."

"But I'll be safe in the disc…safe and warm and happy…"

"That's what he wants you to think."

Namine sighed and walked closer. "Roxas, please, don't be so selfish."

"_Shut. Up."_

Namine stepped back, wringing her hands. Mickey stepped forward. "She's right. You are being selfish right now. If ya really wanted Xion to be happy, you'd let her go."

Roxas wrapped his arms around Xion. It looked less liked a hug and more like a dog guarding its bone. "She only thinks she'll be happy. I can make her happy right now."

"How?"

Roxas snapped his fingers, bringing up his own command console. It was as white as the walls. "Access file xion-dot-exe."

Xion gasped. "Wha—" She went silent, even though her mouth was still moving, and her pupils started rhythmically dilatating between huge and tiny.

"Obedience at 100. Cheerfulness at 100. Affection for entity Mickey at zero. Confirm."

Xion blinked, then smiled and stared into Roxas' eyes, as if in a trance. "I want to be safe with you," she murmured.

Mickey's jaw dropped. "That's just mind control!"

Roxas closed his eyes. "Maybe. But if it keeps her safe, then so be it."

"You just want her to stay here 'cause ya think you can't be happy without her!"

"I'm done with you." He stuck his hand out toward Mickey. "Expel foreign entity."

As Mickey was sucked into a portal, he vowed to come back for Xion as quickly as possible.

0=0=0=0=0=0

The flight to Castle Oblivion was taking a surprisingly long time. Sora sighed and crossed his legs on the dashboard, taking a moment to catch some shuteye.

Of course, Donald put a stop to that pretty quickly. "No slacking!"

Sora jumped up and took the controls again. "I know, I know, sorry."

Goofy looked over. "Are you okay, Sora? You've been acting kinda strange."

Sora sighed and held his chest. "Something's going on in my heart, I know it. I feel a lot less angry than I was yesterday for some reason, but now I'm just confused…"

Goofy smiled and held Sora on the shoulder. "It'll be alright. You're gonna save that Xion person and her friends."

Donald nodded. "You've done this lots of times before."

Sora grinned. "Thanks, guys. This all means a lot."

An alarm went off, and the Gummi Ship stopped. A massive vessel appeared in front of the ship. It looked like a wooden galleon for some old imperial navy, but there were huge rockets in the back, shooting jets of flame and propelling the craft forward.

Sora gritted his teeth. "Looks like a Heartless ship to me! Let's get it!"

Without paying attention to Goofy raising a finger of hesitation, Sora opened fire, blasting the starboard side. Several satisfying explosions ensued, and Sora got ready to swing around and shoot the port. But then, the retaliation came. Cannons started firing away at the Gummi Ship, doing serious damage.

Sora narrowed his eyes and fired the missiles. One of them hit a cannon, blowing it sky-high. He pumped his fist. "This is what I'm talking about!"

Goofy was still hesitant. "Sora, maybe this isn't—"

"I've got this!"

Sora did a loop-de-loop around the ship, hitting it even more and whooping with joy. Then, the Gummi Ship rocked and rattled, and loud alarms went off all over the place. In a few seconds, the engines exploded, and the Gummi Ship went into a tailspin toward the enemy vessel.

Donald and Goofy both grabbed the joystick and pulled up hard with Sora. Just as the ship was leveling off, the stick broke off the console. The Gummi Ship slammed into the deck of the galleon, smoking and flaming.

Sora took a moment to catch his breath. "Is everyone…is everyone all right?"

Donald went into his usual tirade. "What kind of piloting was that?! You can't just go attacking things like that! We never had a chance!"

Goofy bit his lip. "I have to agree with Donald here, to be honest."

Sora rolled his eyes and got up. "I see you're both fine," he spat out.

Both of Sora's companions stepped back at bit, and he cringed. He wasn't prone to outbursts like that. "Sorry. I didn't mean to be that harsh. Come on, let's figure out where we are."

When they stepped out, they found various beings, none human, pointing guns at them. Because that was just Sora's luck today. He raised his hands. "Whoa, whoa, hey, I'm sorry I shot at you guys, I thought you were Heartless…"

He heard a woman's voice behind him. "Truly, I should have you all hanged for this attack, but anyone who knows about the Heartless is useful to us."

Sora blinked and turned around. Hanging over him was a slim woman with a feline face, wearing a regal military uniform. She gave off the air of being a very busy woman with no time for random attacks, ducks, dogs or silly boys.

"I am Captain Amelia. You will be detained on my ship until further notice. You are to refer to me as Captain or Mam. Is that understood?"

Sora sighed. This was going to be a long day…

0=0=0=0=0=0

**If you haven't already guessed, the Disney film I went with is Treasure Planet. I watched it for the first time in years last night, and I liked it quite a bit. It's a fun movie, and fun is always something I like seeing in modern filmmaking, where angst and drama are considered 'deep and meaningful'. Plus, my good friend and fan RequiemOfKingdomHearts loves it, and I aim to please. :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading, and keep an eye out for chapter twenty-three!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter twenty-three is now here for your enjoyment! It contains more Treasure Planet, plus a check in on Lea and the denizens of Radiant Garden. To be honest, I've been intentionally avoiding the Final Fantasy characters because I know next to nothing about FF. I'm kind of insecure about their portrayal even here. But that won't stop me from bringing you your dosage of awesomeness!**

**I'd also like to say that a group of friends and I spontaneously decided a couple days ago to make our own KH dating simulator. Because we're all nuts. :P We have writers (including myself) and coders, but we could use some artists. If you're interested, PM me!**

**With that little classified ad out of the way, let's get started on this awesome chapter!**

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**Unforgettable**

**Chapter XXIII**

**Favors From The Other**

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"_Look, this isn't right. Xion wants to leave. You have to respect that." _

"…_I can't lose her. I can't. No matter what."_

"_So you'll just turn her into your puppet, like the Organization did to the Real Thing? Is that what you want, to imitate the Organization?"_

"_SHUT UP."_

"_Roxas, no matter how many times you say that, I won't—"_

"_Volume of entity Namine at zero."_

"…"

"_See? I can make you shut up. If you want to keep talking, stop questioning me."_

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"So, would you mind telling me exactly _why _you made an unprovoked attack on _my _vessel?"

The more Captain Amelia emphasized this, the stupider Sora felt.

He, Donald and Goofy had been taken to a very nice captain's quarters, which included an ornate desk, a globelike statuette that seemed to contain multiple galaxies and a wonderful view of the stars. It was a bit like Captain Hook's quarters, with fewer weapons and less gold on display. What weapons there were consisted mostly of guns, pistols that looked like flintlock but had blue energy beams coursing through them, like a sci-fi blaster. Sora wondered just what civilization had commissioned this ship.

Not that he had much attention on that at the moment. He sighed and ruffled his own hair. "Listen, we're trying to fight the Heartless, and we thought this was a Heartless ship."

Donald raised his eyebrow. "No, Sora, _you _thought it was a Heartless ship."

"Not. Helping. Donald."

Amelia walked around Sora with a condescending look on her face. "You should probably know that the only reason I am keeping you alive is because these Heartless have been crawling in these parts lately. They take the form of pirates and pirate ships most of the time, but just as often they are nothing more than beasts. And they are occasionally led by white beings, clearly a distinct species."

"Nobodies!"

"Nobodies? Is that what they are called? Dreadful name." Amelia stopped and turned to Sora. "In any case, we can't have them on our ship. We are on a very important mission, and we can't have interruptions…such as unexpected attacks…"

Sora let his head drop. "You're just going to keep hammering that point, aren't you?"

"Given how much damage you caused my ship and how long it's going to take to fully repair, I certainly have the right. And know this…" Amelia kneeled down to Sora's level and frowned at him. "If the Heartless are not dealt with, my best option will be to blast a hole in your chest. Is that understood?"

Sora could feel his own sweat. Even for him, Amelia was intimidating. "…Yes, Captain. We won't let you down."

"You should pray that you do not." She pulled up to her full height again, much taller than Sora. "Now, as long as you are here, you'll be taking up food, and that means we'll need you doing work other than fending off occasional attacks. I will have my first mate assign—"

Sora heard the trademark sound of Heartless spawning and whipped around, summoning his Keyblade. This was a new kind he hadn't seen before. They were purple, and had a general pirate motif, with headbands and an eyepatch marked with the Heartless insignia. They also had four arms, carrying two pistols and two cutlasses. About a dozen of these Treasure Hunters, as Sora decided to call them, had just surrounded Sora, Donald, Goofy and Amelia.

Sora smiled. "Now you'll see what we're good at."

The Treasure Hunters aimed their pistols and started firing red laser bolts at the group. Sora cast Reflect, and the lasers bounced back and hit the Heartless, doing noticeable damage and breaking them up. Having divided them, Sora charged and sliced at them, taking out two. He chuckled. This was going to be easy.

He took a glance at Amelia. Turned out, she was a capable combatant herself. She was shooting away at the Heartless with her pistol, causing them to disappear in no more than two bolts. But then one of the Heartless hit her from behind with a cutlass, and she stumbled. Sora was about to jump in and help when Goofy charged, knocking the Heartless away and sending it off. Maybe it was just Sora, but Goofy seemed a little smarter than usual.

More Heartless spawned, and Amelia ran over to Sora, standing back to back. "Seems like you're more capable than you look."

Sora looked indignant, which was only partially an act. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Amelia smiled for the first time since Sora had arrived. "Nothing you should worry your head about." She aimed her pistol again. "I hope you're ready."

"I'm always ready."

Both fighters leaped up and started shooting at the Heartless, Amelia with her pistol and Sora with Fire spells. These blasts seemed more powerful than usual, putting small craters in the wood and oneshoting most of the enemies. They did this about ten times, devastating the enemy force. Sora stabbed his Keyblade in the ground and brought up a giant tornado, allowing Amelia to be swept up in it as she used it as a turret, spraying bolts around the room.

When Amelia landed, she smiled at Sora. "It's decided. You have worth after all."

Sora slung his Keyblade over his shoulder and grinned. "Comes with a few years of experience."

Then, even more Heartless spawned. Now they were lead by two huge Nobodies with six arms, each one carrying a large sword. The name 'Pirate Berserker' came to mind. Sora grimaced and got back in combat position. "Don't tell me there's more!"

_Sounds like you need a little help, Hero._

Sora looked around. He didn't recognize that voice, a boy's voice that sounded rather sinister. "Who—"

_Shush, now. I just want—_

Without warning, the voice became garbled. It soon became replace by a voice Sora did recognize, a certain other. _Hey! Don't listen to that guy! I'll help!_

Sora raised his eyebrow. "Roxas? How can you help?"

_I have a way. Hey, this will help me, too. Hang tight._

Sora felt a warmth emanating from his chest and engulfing his whole body. He grinned as something familiar took over his body, like hugging an old friend. It was certainly a much nicer feeling than he usually felt lately. And so, he let it overwhelm him.

0=0=0=0=0=0

_*BZZT*_

'_I love Roxas and Axel. I'm sure Saix, would scoff at that. Call it a trick of my artificial memories. But the time I spent on that clocktower was real. I wish the three of us could stay together, just like this, forever.'_

_I put the pen down and sigh. For a moment, I muse about something, maybe something I should write. I also love Riku. And Sora. And Kairi. And Selphie, Tidus and Wakka. And Donald and Goofy and Jiminy. I love all these people, most of whom I have never met. Only Sora has met them. Maybe he loved them first._

_I decide not to write it down. Roxas and Axel…they're special. I DO know them. I spent this whole year with them, good and bad. They got me through some hard times. Sora loves the others. I love Roxas and Axel._

_I may come from him. But I'm still different. This is how I have made peace with him._

_*BZZT*_

0=0=0=0=0=0

Sora found himself wearing an Organization coat with the hood up. In one hand was his familiar Kingdom Key. In the other was another Keyblade he knew, one he held very dear. Oathkeeper.

This form had a name Sora found apt. Oath Form.

Sora charged at one of the Nobodies, dragging both Keyblades along the ground and kicking up the usual sparks that seemed to follow Roxas as if he were a blowtorch. The Nobody got into position to block, but Sora leaped up and brought the Keyblades down on it, causing the guard to break.

The Nobody exploded, and Sora moved on. He spun like a tornado, slashing through the Heartless like air. Two more Nobodies spawned, and they ganged up with the third one to try and herd him into a corner, but he just leaped up and raised the Keyblades in the air, raining down massive beams of light on them. When the Nobodies were gone, Sora lunged forward, sending a row of six light beams at the survivors of the attack.

One more Nobody spawned, but Sora had a response to that, too. He threw Oathkeeper in the air, and it came back down broken into several ninja stars, with spokes shaoed the same way as Oathkeeper's blade. He threw them at the Nobodies, and they turned out to be quite sharp. Soon enough, the opponents were no more.

Sora stood for a moment, recovering from the intense battle. "Thanks," he whispered.

_It was just a favor. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got an oath to keep._

Sora blinked. "Was that a—Roxas!"

Of course, his good other had already sunk away from his mind, and he had returned to his normal self. He turned around and saw Amelia staring at him with awe.

"I have no clue what you just did or who you're talking to," she said. "But provided you don't attack my crew anymore, I think I'll keep you around…"

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Of all the things that Lea had expected when he arrived at the computer room in Radiant Garden, the King popping out of the monitor in a flash of red light was not one of them.

And yet, that was exactly what happened. Mickey came flying out of the screen, hitting Cid in the face before knocking both of them down onto the floor. Everyone in the room, including Lea, Leon and Yuffie, stared at this random sight with shock and perhaps mild amusement, at least in Yuffie's case. Lea knew instantly that he wasn't going to be seeing the others again for a good while.

Mickey got up, helping Cid as he did. Then he looked around the room and sighed deeply. "He's out of control, isn't he…"

Lea walked over. "What are you doing here?"

Mickey looked up at him. "Data Roxas booted me outta the datascape."

Lea's eyes widened. "Roxas?!"

"No, _Data _Roxas. It's a different Roxas. And he isn't very nice."

Lea bent down to get at eye level with Mickey. "What did he do?"

Mickey turned back to the computer. "I was going to take Xion…Data Xion…back to the disc she came from. But then he brainwashed her and kicked me out."

"Xion?!" Lea closed his eyes. "Look, you aren't making any sense. What the heck is going on?"

Mickey bit his lip. "Sorry" Then he turned to Cid, who had pulled his chair back up and was typing again, apparently fruitlessly. "Have you been having any computer problems?"

Cid grunted. "Yes! All day! This whole town is going nuts. These weird reverse-color Heartless and Nobodies have been popping up everywhere!"

Mickey scratched his chin. "It's gotta be Glitches…okay, I think I've figured this out. You'll have to bear with me."

Lea nodded. "Anything to do with Roxas and Xion matters to me, even if they are data."

And so, Mickey recounted his whole experience with Data Xion, right up until Data Roxas kicked him out. Lea couldn't believe his ears. Why would Roxas—_any _version of Roxas—turn his best friend into his slave, especially when he knew what she had gone through?

So, Lea did what he always did. He was direct. "Why is Roxas acting like this?"

Mickey thought for a moment. "…I think he misses her so much that he'd rather he control her than lose her. He did talk a lot about making everything perfect for her and himself."

Lea sighed. He remembered now what had happened when _he _had tried to make everything 'perfect'. If he could have mind controlled Roxas and Xion at the time, he figured he would have, even knowing the consequences, probably rationalizing it in his head as keeping them safe just as Data Roxas had. But, like many such things, that only made it worse. He had at least hoped that Roxas was smart enough to avoid making the same mistakes.

Cid crossed his arms. "If this is in some kind of computer in your world, why are we having problems over here?"

Mickey considered this. "Roxas linked up a bunch of computers around the worlds. I don't know how. I think it has something to do with the Virus." He turned to the giant machine on the other wall. "I've gotta go back in."

Lea stepped up next to him. "I'll go with you."

Mickey looked up. "You sure?"

"Of course. Roxas needs to learn some things, and that lesson is going to involve me."

Leon sighed. "How are you going to get in? All the computers are locked down."

Yuffie smiled. "By pissing this Roxas guy off." She turned to Lea. "You said Xion looks a little like me, right?"

Lea shook his head. "Please don't."

"Do you want in or not?"

"…Fine."

Yuffie walked over to what appeared to be a webcamera and smiled at it. "Yoo-hoo. Roooxxxaaasss. Guess who? You're old buddy!"

An all-caps message appeared on all the screens in green text. _STOP IT._

"Okaaay, I'm not REALLY her, but we're apparently twinsies, so you can be my buddy, too!"

_I HATE YOU, YOU STUPID MOCKERY._

"Is that any way to treat a friend?" Yuffie pouted and shook her finger at the webcam. "I've heard you've been very bad to your friends in general. Hacking their brains and stuff."

_HOW ABOUT I JUST BLOW UP YOUR WHOLE STUPID CITY AND EVERYONE LIVING IN IT._

Yuffie froze. Anyone with access to the defense grid certainly had the capacity to destroy Radiant Garden. Lea cringed. Was Data Roxas crazy?

_I DON'T TAKE ORDERS FROM ANYONE ANYMORE. I RUN THIS JOURNAL MY WAY. XION AND I WILL BE HAPPY. THAT. IS. FINAL._

Lea decided to try something. He walked over to the webcam and looked in. "Hey…Rox. It's me."

…_HE NEVER FORGAVE YOU. THEREFORE, NEITHER DID I._

Lea held back a sigh. "Listen. We need to talk. Right now. In person."

…

"I know you don't really like us, and you have every right to hate me, but you need to know some things. I'm…really disappointed about how you're treating Xion right now. I think we should talk about it. Please. Just the two of us."

…

Lea braced himself, half-certain he was about to be blown to smithereens.

…

…_FINE._

_GET IN FRONT OF THE SCANNER._

_THIS IS A FAVOR._

Lea discreetly sighed in relief, then got in front of the scanner. Mickey looked up at him. "I still have to keep my promise to Xion."

Lea smiled. "I'll get that worked out. Don't worry."

Mickey nodded. "I trust you."

With that, Lea turned back to the scanner, just as it started its work.

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**Well, I'd say that's good for one chapter. Cliffhangers are always nice. :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading, and be sure to tune in next time for chapter twenty-four!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Well, it's been a while since I've updated this, hasn't it? Not to worry! The next exciting update of this tale is finally here, with nothing but Kairi, no less! Thank you for your patience. I hope you enjoy.**

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**Unforgettable**

**Chapter XXIV**

**Shadows**

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"_So…Captain…any way we could negotiate for our release?"_

"_By repelling Heartless attacks and doing your work until our mission is complete."_

"_Okay…what work can we do?"_

"_Work in the kitchen. If you're going to be partaking in this ship's food, you might as well prepare it. I'm sure Mr. Silver will be happy to take you in."_

"…_Aw, man…"_

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Any kind of time travel, it seemed, had lots of rules for the travelers. _Don't interfere with the natural flow of events. Don't try to change the future. Don't let the locals figure out that you're from the future. _On and on. What was the point of going back in time if you couldn't change anything? Especially considering that at least two out of three of those were_ exactly what they were planning to do._

But then, that was probably why Yen Sid assigned Jiminy Cricket to keep an eye on Kairi. Even Princesses of Heart needed a conscience, apparently.

When Kairi arrived in Timeless River, after trying to blink black dots out of her vision that she quickly realized looked like film grain, she noticed that it didn't quite match up with how Sora had described it. For one thing, it wasn't black and white. It had noticeable color, although it was mostly dull, earthy colors with the occasional splotch of green grass. Apparently, this place wasn't healthy. Second, a small town had sprung up around the hill and the Cornerstone, with a Town Hall, a fire station and even a movie theater. Much like the desert-like area around it, the colors of the buildings were dull and lifeless, mostly black bricks.

Kairi took a deep breath, detecting that the air was stale. "I guess this place has really gone downhill since Sora visited."

Jiminy poked his head out of the pocket of her skirt, making her notice that she was wearing her old clothes from the islands (in fact, she felt younger, too). "That's odd…it wasn't like this at all before. Time must have moved forward here while we were away."

"Okay, that makes sense. But why is it suddenly so dreary?"

"I don't know." Jiminy hopped up on Kairi's shoulder. "Something must have happened. But what…?"

"I guess we're here to find out." Kairi looked at the movie theater and noticed a line forming. "Maybe asking the locals will help."

"Kairi, we have to make sure—"

Without waiting for Jiminy's cautions, Kairi ran to the theater and got in line. Worst-case scenario, she would get to see a movie while she was here, although only one thing was playing according to the posters and the old-style sign over the ticket booth, some kind of horror film that probably wasn't too horrifying. She wiped her brow, getting rid of the sweat from the hot sun, and looked down. She noticed a couple, two large mice, the girlfriend wearing a pink blouse and a bowtie on her head, and the boyfriend wearing red trousers…and shaking uncontrollably. It took Kairi a second to recognize them—Queen Minnie and King Mickey.

She tapped Mickey on the shoulder. "Hey."

Mickey jumped up, leaped into Minnie's arms and screamed like Kairi was some kind of horrible monster about to eat his brains. _"HELP!"_

Awesome kings were made rather than born, it seemed.

Kairi jumped back, jarred by both the scream and its unlikely source. "Whoa, whoa, hey, I'm not the monster, calm down…"

Mickey blinked, then blushed as Minnie set him down with a giggle. "Don't mind him," she said. "He's just really tense about the movie." Then she tilted her head. "I haven't seen you around town before. What's your name?"

"I'm Kairi," she said immediately, coming up with a cover story as she went along. "I'm…new here. I was actually wondering why everything is so dry and…desert-y."

_Smooth…oh, Kairi, hey…_

Kairi looked around, looking for the source of the sudden voice while trying to pass it off as a mere moment of awkwardness. Was that Namine? It sounded suspiciously like her. Minnie snapped her back to reality by speaking. "We don't know. It's only been like this for a few days. It used to be so bright and colorful, but it's like all of that color is fading away somehow."

Kairi scratched her chin. "Maybe because of the Heartless?"

Minnie blinked. "Heartless? But they haven't been seen in thirty years."

Thirty years? That didn't line up with Sora's last visit at all. How did time move here? Kairi brushed her hair back, trying to distract from the awkward words incoming. "Um, it was just a thought. I'm into recent history…yeah, I'm a historian…who studies Heartless. Yeah."

The look on Minnie's face told that she didn't buy that for a second, but she didn't push it. "…Well, all right. I'm Minnie." She stuck out her hand. "Nice to meet you."

Kairi shook the hand, stifling a sigh of relief—time travel cover stories were surprisingly hard. "Nice to meet you, too!"

_Kairi. Can you hear me?_

Namine's voice again. Where was it coming from? Kairi closed her eyes for a second and whispered to herself. "Who's there?"

_It's me, Namine. I have a message. Sora and everyone inside him are in danger._

"Danger? What's going on? And how—"

She heard Mickey's voice. "Hey! You okay, fella?"

Kairi snapped back again and covered herself as best she could. "Oh, yeah, just a little headache. Nothing to worry about, just the small stuff we all get sometimes."

Before Mickey could question that, the line started to move forward, and so did he, Minnie and Kairi. Kairi tried to contact Namine again, but it was no use. Had she imagined it? Namine's voice sounded like a real sound rather than a regular thought. But Namine was gone, right?

She sighed and moved to the ticket booth, ordering a ticket to the only film showing. Jiminy poked up again and whispered in her ear. "Isn't this a little…frivolous?"

Kairi almost shrugged before remembering that that would rattle poor Jiminy's bones. "We've got to blend in, right? And the quickest way to understand an era is through its culture. Trust me."

Jiminy shook his head. "I trust you only mildly."

"Better than not trusting me at all."

With that, Kairi walked into the theater, got some popcorn—first cart free—and sat down in front of the screen. By the time she realized that she had accidentally plopped down next to Mickey, it was too late, and she shrank in her seat, trying to avoid notice. Luckily, Mickey seemed more focused on the obviously not-too-terrifying images on the screen, quivering. The sight of the King himself racked into absolute terror by the cheesiest horror film Kairi had seen since _Destiny Islands Massacre _was a slightly unsettling sight, but at least he wasn't paying attention to her.

Wait. Sora's description of the local version of Mickey was a mischievous little rascal. And of course, Kairi's own Mickey was pretty much the embodiment of awesomeness and seriousness. Had Merlin given her the right portal? And was the Timeless River _really _the past? Or was it some kind of parallel universe, somehow separate from the 'real' universe? As the number of questions grew, the number of actual _answers _lessened, and suddenly Sora's plan of time travel seemed like a terrible idea.

_Kairi!_

Kairi jumped—just in time with an attempted jumpscare on screen, no less—and closed her eyes again, this time with the cover of darkness on her side. "Namine?"

_Yes._

"You were about to tell me about Sora and danger, right?"

_I was…why am I so tired…Sora's being controlled by someone really evil, and he might do some dark things._

Kairi gritted her teeth. "Wha—what are you talking about? What's going on?"

_There's someone inside his heart, someone bad. His name is Van—_

A scream that sounded like Mickey startled Kairi and made her turn. It actually wasn't Mickey, not quite. Actually, it was his shadow. The shadow had actually split from Mickey somehow, and was running off, leaving Mickey in mostly white monochrome and shock.

Kairi got up and summoned her Keyblade. "Heartless. Great."

Jiminy hanged on tight to Kairi as she ran off toward the shadow. "I don't think that's a Heartless."

Kairi tried to think while running out of the theater. "The Anti Form looks like a shadow and represents the worst part of you, right? If the worst part of Mickey—this Mickey, I mean—is fear, then that must be his Anti Form!"

Jiminy blinked. "…You're smart."

Kairi smiled. "Nah, I just pick up on things quickly."

Kairi ran outside and looked around. It was nighttime outside now, and it was hard to see the shadow, but Kairi managed to spot it in the light of a lamppost. But before she could run at it, she was shoved aside by Mickey, who ran ahead at the shadow, clearly trying to catch it. She gritted her teeth. "Great…"

She charged after Mickey and his apparent Anti Form. They were actually pretty fast, and Anti Mickey knocked over trash cans and benches to drive off his pursuers. Kairi only barely managed to leap over one of the trash bins, and her near-fall caused her to fall behind.

Namine's voice rang in her head again. _You can do this!_

Kairi was panting now. "Any way to help me besides cheerleading?

_Actually…yes._

Kairi felt a sudden burst of energy and speed. It didn't feel like a normal burst of adrenaline. It was more like the energy of magic. Propelled by some strange instinct, she leapt up on the wall to her left and ran on it just like it was ground. A trail of light flowed behind her like a comet's tail. When she ran out of wall, she leapt in front Anti Mickey, forcing him into an alleyway, and Normal Mickey along with him. Having cornered the shadow, Kairi took a short moment to catch her breath.

She walked toward Anti Mickey, spinning her Keyblade in her hand. "Okay, let's get this over with…"

Mickey—the real one—ran in front of her and spread his hands out. "Hey! Don't hurt the poor fella! He was just scared of the movie."

Kairi cringed and sent her Keyblade off. Mickey was right—this wasn't a traditionally destructive Heartless, like a Shadow. Heck, it barely counted as an Anti Form—maybe that had been a misjudgment from the beginning. Maybe just killing it wasn't such a great plan after all. _Chalk up another embarrassment for Kairi, _she thought. _The girl who shouldn't be time travelling…_

Namine 'spoke' again. _It's okay. You can do this. Just stay—_

Then, Kairi heard a man with a distinctive British accent behind her. "Well, well, look who just played the exact card their opponent needed them to play."

Kairi spun around and summoned her Keyblade again. There stood a hooded man, recognizable by his voice. And if Kairi hadn't recognized him before, she certainly did when he flipped down his head and revealed a blond man with a beard, ear piercings and a cocky smile. She gritted her teeth. "Luxord…"

The man snorted. "Luxord? Oh, that was an alias. A bluff, really. My true name is Ludor."

"Do you just lie awake at night and come up with game puns like this?"

Another snort. "Well, some of this was a bit rehearsed, I admit. I have to make a dramatic entrance, after all." He snapped his fingers, bringing up an invisible barrier at the enterance of the alleyway. "Now. Thank you for bringing a perfect candidate for the Anti Army to me."

Kairi looked at Anti Mickey, who was clinging to the real Mickey and cowering in the corner, then turned back to Ludor. "Yeah, I'm not letting you have your hands on them."

Ludor grinned and snapped his fingers again. "Maybe this will change your mind," he said as he vanished in a cloud of black energy.

The shadowy cloud remained for a second before giving way to what appeared to be a hooded girl. Xion? That wasn't possible. Things only got stranger when she summoned a Keyblade…Destiny's Embrace.

Kairi jumped back and summoned her own Keyblade. "What the—"

The girl lunged at Kairi and locked Keyblades with her. Kairi kicked the girl away and shot off a couple Blizzard spells, hoping to freeze her. But it was worse than no use—the girl actually grabbed the iceballs out of the air and threw them back, forcing Kairi to dodge out of the way.

The girl ran forward at a seemingly supernatural speed, grabbing Kairi by the throat and ramming her against a wall. "You don't exist," she intoned in a flat, monotone version of Kairi's voice.

Before Kairi could respond, Namine just started screaming in Kairi's head, as if in terrible pain. It gave Kairi a headache. She slammed her fist down on the girl's elbow, breaking the chokehold, but the screaming didn't stop.

Kairi grabbed her head. "Namine, please, calm down, you have to calm down…"

Namine kept screaming. _I EXIST! I EXIST! I EXIST!_

Kairi fell to her knees. "Yes, that's right, she's lying, don't let her get to you, calm down, please, you're hurting me, please…"

The girl stood over Kairi, somehow speaking even louder than Namine's screaming. "How does being helpless feel, Kairi? Of course, you'd know. You're always helpless."

Kairi fought her way through the fog in her mind and the throbbing headache, pulled herself up and punched the girl in the face, yelling incoherently. The girl barely flinched. "Oh," she said in a tone that somehow felt mocking despite the monotone. "You'll have to try better than that."

Kairi felt anger rising in her, and screamed so loudly that it actually hurt. "How about _this?!"_

She charged, swinging her Keyblade wildly. Much to her frustration, the girl parried every swing with ease. In a final burst of anger, Kairi jumped back, rose in the air and put all of her energy into her Keybalde, letting it out as a blast of several balls of fire, moving in a spiral toward the girl.

Kairi fell to the ground, collapsing in a heap from the energy that the attack took. When she managed to regain the strength to open her eyes, she saw something that might have made her cry if she had the energy for that.

The girl was still there, as if nothing had happened.

Namine was still screaming, and it was getting louder. Kairi's vision got blurry and red. She wished she had the strength to cry, because she felt like breaking down right now. This stupid girl had done it. She had broken the Princess of Heart.

As Kairi lost consciousness, the girl stood over her. "You don't exist," she said again.

Unconsciousness only brought about another round of screaming from Namine.

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**Yup, that was pretty dark, I've still got it. :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading, and be sure to stay tuned for chapter twenty-five!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Welcome back! This is a short chapter, but it has plenty of drama, and I need something to get my momentum back up. I hope you enjoy!**

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**Unforgettable**

**Chapter XXV**

**Reality Check**

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"_The Project did quite well, Master. It should help quite a bit in our plans."_

"_Ah, so Lumaria's machinations weren't a fallacy. I suggest we give it it's true name, now that we know it works."_

"_I think the Project works just fine."_

"_Are you afraid it will go the way of Xion? Because don't worry about that. Naming something does not make it animate. Boats have names."_

"_If it started considering itself a person rather than a thing…"_

"_You worry yourself far too much, Isa. Even if it did develop its own identity, I would have not only accounted for that, but worked it into a scheme even greater than the original."_

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The digital version of Castle Oblivion, despite having more people in it, somehow felt even lonelier than the real one.

Lea walked down the empty halls, with Mickey tagging close behind. It annoyed him a bit that Data Roxas hadn't dropped them a little closer to their destination, but he figured that was probably because of the whole 'Real Thing' deal. He would just have to prove to him that he wasn't out to get him.

Finally, they reached the double doors to the pod room. Roxas was already waiting for them. He had his hood up as usual, and he _mostly _didn't look like he was about to decapitate a Real Thing and mount their head on the wall. Mostly. Lea signaled Mickey to stay outside, then shut the doors behind him. He had already decided that this would be a private conversation, and besides, if Roxas was going to decapitate anyone, it was going to be the mouse who he thought was trying to kidnap his girlfriend.

Lea sighed and turned to Roxas. "Hey. It's been a while."

Roxas gave the impression of rolling his eyes without actually doing so—one of Saix's old tricks, actually. "We've never actually met before."

"But you have the memories, right? I think that counts."

Roxas turned to the center pod, as if it where the person speaking to him. "Those are the shattered memories of someone who exists no more. I am all that remains of Roxas now."

Lea shrugged. "So, for all intents and purposes, you are Roxas."

"No. I'm fake. I'm an impostor." Roxas stared to the right, like he was about to turn around. "You Real Things take your own existence for granted. Only you get to do that."

Lea shook his head. "Not when you've been a Nobody, you don't."

"At least you can actually hold Nobodies. I'm just zeroes and ones."

Lea walked up to him, cautiously laying a hand on his shoulder. "I can hold zeroes and ones."

Roxas jerked away. "Only Xion gets to touch me. Understood?"

Lea sighed and nodded. "Speaking of which…can I see her? Please?"

"Why?"

"I want to know how she's doing." _Especially with the brain hijacking, _he chose not to add.

Roxas was silent for a moment. Then he snapped his fingers. "Come."

Xion appeared in front of them with a smile on her face that looked suspiciously forced. Maybe she was still fighting the control. But how do you fight your own programming? Lea shuddered, then took a deep breath and walked up to her. "Hey…Xion."

Xion made a more genuine smile at the sound of her own name, but it faded quickly and she shank away. "Don't hurt me…"

Lea blinked, then turned to Roxas again. "Did you make her afraid of everyone but you?"

Roxas did the eye-rolling thing again. "That would be idiotic, considering she's surrounded by other people all the time. She just remembers all the bad things you did to her. And I anticipate the bad things that you're _going _to do to her. You're not very popular, really."

Lea sighed, turned back to Xion and got down to her eye level. "…I'm sorry. About everything."

Xion kept her head down, like a scared little kid. "Even beating me up?"

"_Especially _beating you up."

"Even saying you hate me?"

Lea blinked. When had he said that? It was the bad memories that were the most vivid, so he probably should have remembered that. Still, he nodded, just in case. "Yes."

"Even tearing my hair out?"

Lea _definitely _hadn't done that. Lea nodded, which seemed to reassure her, even though she still didn't move, then stood up and turned to Roxas. "Uh…I'm pretty sure I would have remembered tearing her hair out," he whispered.

Roxas stared at Xion, who seemed to have gotten lost in some absent-minded game she was playing with her fingers. "What do you know? Your memories of her are just as wrecked as everyone else's. Even I struggled to hang onto her."

"…Nope, still not ringing a bell."

Roxas sighed and walked over to Xion. "Are you sleepy?" he asked her.

Instantly, Xion dropped her hands to her sides, and her eyes drooped. "Uh-huh…"

"You can sleep."

Xion closed her eyes, and her head dropped. She still had a creepy smile on her face. Roxas walked back to Lea. "Look, you came to talk about it, so whatever. I altered Xion's memories."

Lea's eyes went wide. "You _what?!"_

"Only to make her happy."

"You made her happy by making her think that I was Saix or something?"

Roxas shrugged. "I was just trying to make sure she knew who not to trust."

Lea stepped back. "Roxas…what are you turning into?"

Roxas spread his hands out in frustration. "Do you think I'm proud of it or something? Because I hate it. But I have to do it to keep her safe. My job is to make her safe and warm and happy, just the way she wants to be." He gestured toward Xion, who was giggling in her sleep. "And I'm doing that job. She's been in a state of constant joy ever since I started this process."

Lea shook his head. "Roxas…I know exactly how you feel. I thought the exact same about you and her back in the Organization. But that's not joy she's feeling."

Roxas scowled. "What do you know?"

"More than you. Didn't you pay attention to her face? That smile looks like someone glued it on. She can't stand it."

"I didn't say she wasn't in a daze. She's really happy, but she doesn't remember how to smile for real."

Lea threw his hands in the air. "Now you're just giving me a bunch of lies! She smiled for real when she heard her name, Roxas. How often do you say her name?"

Roxas narrowed his eyes. "And here I thought you were trying to negotiate with me."

"No, Roxas. I'm giving you a reality check. You're hurting her, and you don't even know it. You need to let her go, right now."

Roxas stepped forward, clenching his fists. "I'm making her happy!"

"You're making her your slave."

"Shut up!"

Lea shook his head again. "That's your favorite line, isn't it? Too bad it usually doesn't have the intended effect."

Xion whimpered, even though her eyes were still closed. "Don't fight," she mumbled. "Please."

Roxas sighed and ran back to her. "I'm just keeping you safe."

"Please, I'm sick, don't fight…"

Roxas blinked. "…You can't get sick, you're data."

"I'm sick, don't fight."

Lea looked at them both. "The fight is making her sick, Roxas."

Roxas hugged her tight, seeming to ignore Lea but still getting it. "We won't fight anymore. Okay?"

Xion raised her voice. "Promise!"

"I promise."

She took a couple deep breaths. "Don't kick him out, either. He likes me."

"I like you, too. A lot."

That's when Xion burst into tears.

Roxas didn't look like he knew what to do. He held her cheeks, trying to wipe the tears away as they flowed. "Hey, hey, don't cry, it's okay, don't cry, don't cry, don't cry…"

The usually comforting words soon grew into begging. Lea closed his eyes. It took a lot to break someone as stubborn as Roxas…but when someone like that _did _break, they had a tendency to just totally crash like this. Standing too rigid only made falling more painful.

Eventually, Roxas thought to ask the obvious question, since Xion seemed to recovered just barely enough to answer. "You…don't like me?"

Xion shook her head. "I do…but I don't like being controlled…"

At learning that Xion was fully aware that she was under his control, Roxas just locked up completely. Apparently, comprehending that Xion might be upset because of him was his equivalent of one divided by zero.

"I want to go home…"

Roxas turned to Lea, drew his Keyblades like he was about to attack…then stuck them in the ground.

And screamed louder than any scream Lea had ever heard in his entire life.

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**As I said, plenty of drama. I've been in the mood for angst ever since this crazy project started… :P**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for Chapter 26!**


	26. Chapter 26

**So, you might be wondering why The Longest Night is not complete. Well, the good news is, I hit 50k. The bad news is, the story isn't done yet. I'm going to keep working at it until it's done, don't worry. In the meantime, here's chapter twenty-six of Unforgettable, a chapter I've been itching to write ever since I watched Inside Out…**

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**Unforgettable**

**Chapter XXVI**

**Lost in Nostalgia**

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"_You have proven yourself worthy of a name."_

"_Will a name make me real?"_

"_That depends on your perspective. Of course, having a name is generally a privilege of things that are real."_

"…"

"_If you continue with your work, you will be granted more of these privileges. You will be real…as soon as your work is complete."_

"…_Okay. I'll work hard."_

"_Good…"_

0=0=0=0=0=0

After everything that had happened so far, the elevator ride was surprisingly dull. Xion hated it. Far from giving her a rest for once, it made her anxious and nervous. Paranoia was starting to creep into her, as well. She wondered if Vanitas could control her from where he was. She knew that was ridiculous, that no one could touch her here…but she couldn't get the thought out of her mind, as hard as she tried.

It scared her. Not just the idea itself, but also the fact that she couldn't make it go away. Maybe embracing her insanity hadn't been as great a plan as she had thought. But there was no turning back now.

The elevator stopped moving, much to Xion's relief. The doors slid open, and once she adjusted to the light, she found herself in what appeared to be some kind of control room. There were two large windows, one in the back, overlooking five large, floating islands, and another one in the front, which Xion couldn't see out of clearly. Along the walls were gears, tubes and multicolored orbs. In the center was a control panel, manned by two girls who seemed around her age, the shorter one blue and the taller one a bright gold.

Xion took a deep breath and started to walk toward the two, but then she heard a gruff voice. "Hey!"

Xion turned. "Huh?"

A short, red man in a business suit who looked a little like a living brick was pointing a finger at her and giving a look of suspicion. "You aren't Ven. Who are you?"

Xion stepped back. "I—I'm just—why are you—"

Another voice spoke up, this one female. She sounded like she had better things to do with her day. "Oh, lay off, Anger. It's obviously that girl Sora is obsessed with."

Xion looked. It was a green woman with long eyelashes and a nice dress. The red man, apparently Anger, turned to her. "Kairi has red hair. This girl has black hair."

The woman snorted. "Whatever." She walked toward Xion. "Sorry about that. Anger can be kind of…suspicious."

Xion nodded. "Yeah, I noticed."

Anger crossed his arms. "Well, with everything going on right now, we need to be careful who we let up here."

A spindly man with a purple hue poked his head out from behind a pillar. "He does have a point there."

The green woman rolled her eyes. She looked like she was about to retaliate with some comment, but a bright, cheery voice stopped her. "Oh, come on, guys! It's just Xion!"

Xion turned again. "Hmm?"

The bright girl was walking up to her. She seemed to radiate light. "Don't worry, you're welcome here. I've always wanted to meet you."

Xion tilted her head. "Who are you? And how do you know my name…?"

The girl slapped her forehead. "Oh, where did my manners go? I'm Joy. Sora knows you, so I know you. You seem like a great person to me!"

Xion remembered the journal. "You're…you're Sora's emotions, aren't you?"

"Exactly!" Joy pointed to each of the people nearby in the order Xion had met them. "You know Anger. His job is to make sure Sora stays confident and determined, and doesn't let anyone use him as a doormat. There's Disgust. She keeps Sora from letting bad things into his mind and body. And there's Fear, who keeps Sora from doing anything stupid and getting hurt." Then she pointed to herself. "And I, as Joy, keep Sora happy!"

Xion looked at everyone. "So…even the bad emotions have a job?"

Joy considered this. "Well…I wouldn't say there are any _bad _emotions. Just…ones that don't feel as good. But they're still important!"

Xion shrugged. "That makes sense, I guess." Then she looked at the blue girl, who was trailing slightly behind Joy. "And that's Sadness, right?"

Joy blinked and looked down. "Oh. Yeah. Ven must have given you the memo."

"What's Sadness' job?"

Joy scrunched up her face in thought. "Weeeeeeeell….I don't really know."

"…Did you ever _ask?"_

"Um…no."

Xion bent down to get at eye level with Sadness. "So what is your job?"

Sadness looked down and shifted her feet. "Well…I make Sora sad…that's about it."

Joy sighed. "I don't really get why Sora needs to be sad, but she's here, so…yeah." Before Xion could question her further, she clapped her hands together. "Oh! I'll give you a quick tour of this place. Onwards!"

Joy started to walk over to the racks of orbs along the walls. Xion bit her lip, then patted Sadness on the shoulder. "You're just as important as she is, okay?" she whispered.

Sadness looked up. "Why are you telling me that?"

"Because I know what it's like for people to not really get you."

Sadness nodded. "Thanks, I guess."

Satisfied, Xion got up and ran over to Joy, who was already a little ways ahead of her. She looked at the orbs. "What are these?"

Joy smiled. "Oh, these are memories. These are _really _important. They're part of what makes Sora…well, Sora."

Xion drew in a breath, then let it out again. "…Maybe I shouldn't be here."

Joy tilted her head. "Why not?"

Xion sighed. "I'm made of Sora's memories. I gave them back…but if I'm here, then they might find their way back to me again…"

After a moment, Joy smiled again, and gave Xion a little friendly punch on the shoulder. "Ah, don't worry about that! We put all the memories back where they belong after you came. And now you've got your own heart!"

Xion shook her head. "Doesn't mean I have my own existence…"

"Sure it does! Look, I'll just show you." Joy pulled one of the orbs off the rack, a bright yellow one, and handed it to Xion. "You can hold it."

After a moment of hesitation, Xion took the orb, holding it carefully. It was a little heavier than she expected, but she could hold it with one hand if she didn't move her arm too much. When she peered inside, she saw Sora talking to Donald and Goofy in the cockpit of the Gummi ship.

Joy grinned. "See? Nothing bad happened. You've got your own heart, your own memories and your own life! You can't hurt Sora anymore."

Xion smiled, handing the memory back to Joy. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks."

"No problem!" Joy put the memory back where she had found it and led Xion to a small pillar. Inside little slots on the top, there were more orbs, all of them yellow. "These are Sora's core memories. These are the ones that really shaped him. Each one of them powers one of the Islands of Personality out there." Joy pointed out the window at the floating islands. "Goofball Island, Helpfulness Island, Determination Island, Friendship Island and Hope Island. Goofball Island is my favorite, but they're all great."

Xion looked out the window. Each of the aforementioned islands had structures appropriate to their names—a clown face on Goofball Island, someone pulling a fallen person up on Helpfulness Island, a man raising a Keyblade in the air on Determination Island, people holding hands on Friendship Island and a simple glowing heart symbol on Hope Island.

Xion smiled. "I wonder if I had any of those memories…"

Joy nodded. "Actually, one of the ones you had powers Hope Island." She pointed at the orb in the center. "That one right there. I really like it."

Xion laid her hand on the memory, feeling it's perfect smoothness. She knew what this one was, even before it played in her head.

_It's my lucky charm. Be sure to bring it back to me._

Xion grinned. "That was always my favorite."

As Xion kept holding the orb, her smile slowly faded. Her breathing slowed. "At least…it was when I was alive."

Joy raised her eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

"I…I don't really know…" Small tears came to her face. "I feel really sad all of a sudden…"

Xion noticed another hand on the memory, a small blue one. Then she noticed that the orb was starting to turn blue. She pulled her hand away and looked at Sadness, who was touching the memory. "How are you…"

Joy ran over to Sadness and pulled her hand away from the orb. "Hey, hey, stop it!"

The blue in the orb faded. Sadness shrunk away a bit. "I'm sorry, Joy…I saw Xion touching it, and I noticed how pretty it was, and I wanted to touch it, too…it was almost like it wanted me to touch it…"

"How did you do that? How did you almost turn that perfectly good memory into a sad one?"

"I don't know, it just happened…"

Joy ran her hands through her hair. "Okay, okay, plan…um…okay, never touch any memories ever again. Or at least until we can figure out what's going on."

Xion blinked. "That seems a little…extreme."

Joy turned. "Well, if all of Sora's memories turn sad, then what will we do? We're already having trouble keeping up with all the stuff he's been going through lately."

Xion bit her lip. "I…guess you have a point. But how can we make sure she doesn't touch any memories? They're everywhere."

Joy scratched her chin. "Huh. I didn't think of that." Then she snapped her fingers. "I know! We'll do what the government did in that zombie movie Sora watched. We'll quarantine her."

Xion's eyes went wide. "You'll _what?"_

"Quarantine her. That way the sad stuff doesn't spread to any more memories."

Xion put her hands on her hips. "Okay, first of all, it is _not _okay to compare Sadness to a disease. Second, the memories I have of Sora's life might be a little fuzzy, but I'm pretty sure that in the movie, the zombies they quarantined broke out and ate them, and plans based off movies where the same plan got people eaten tend to be bad plans."

Joy sighed. "Do you have a better idea?"

"Yes! We can…well…we can…uh…"

Sadness held Xion's coat. "It's okay, Xion. We have to keep Sora safe."

Xion sighed. "Okay, fine. But if you go in quarantine, then so do I."

Joy raised her eyebrows. "You don't need to go into quarantine. You aren't doing anything."

Xion shook her head. "No way is she going to be left alone, locked away in some dark corner of this place."

Joy nodded. "Well, if you say so…okay, so I think someone's supposed to take you away…Anger, go find a place for them."

Anger walked up and took Sadness and Xion by the wrists, pulling them along. "All right, let's move it, come on…"

Xion looked Sadness in the eye. "It'll be okay. I'll help you."

Sadness nodded. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'll protect you, promise."

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**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for chapter twenty-seven!**


	27. Chapter 27

**It's been a while, hasn't it?**

**Now, don't get too excited, I'm not totally off hiatus yet. But come on, this chapter has been sitting on a USB drive for MONTHS, there's no way I could justify just leaving it to languish. So, my beautiful fans, here you go…Chapter 27 of Unforgettable. I hope you enjoy!**

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**Unforgettable**

**Chapter XXVII**

**Sounds of a Distant Battle**

0=0=0=0=0=0

"_Huh. I guess being locked up in a small space is way easier when you're sharing it with a friend."_

"_I can't be your friend…"_

"_Why not?"_

"_You barely know me…besides, I'd just drag you down…just like everyone else…"_

"_You know, that's what I thought I would do to Roxas. And look where the two of us are now, happy together. We can do the same thing."_

"…_Thanks, Xion."_

0=0=0=0=0=0

"…This tastes like an exceptionally stupid rat cooked it. And for the food on this ship…that's saying quite a bit."

If nothing else, Mr. Silver was direct.

Sora sighed, staring at the large alien man. Mr. Silver was big, much bigger than his new cooking apprentice, and a good chunk of it was more muscle than fat. More noticeably, he had a giant robotic hand which could produce various tools—spoons, scissors, forks, knives…a lot of knives. Something told Sora that he was more than a simple, innocent cook…but that was not a line of inquiry he was interested in at the moment. Nor was he especially interested in Mr. Silver's chiding.

He was more worried about Xion. He hadn't heard from her since that unsettling conversation in Olympus. He had heard from Roxas, of course, but that had not quelled his fears one bit. He knew that _something _was going on in his heart…he just didn't know what. And by this point, Sora had grown very tired of not knowing things.

Still, there was nothing he could do about it right now. He sighed. "Sorry, sir."

Mr. Silver got out some new ingredients. "How often do ya cook, anyways?"

Sora thought about it for a moment. "…I've never cooked before, actually."

"Aren't you a little young to be adventurin', then? Yer mother must be worried sick."

Sora crossed his arms. "I can handle myself just fine! And Mom knows exactly where I am."

Mr. Silver turned and narrowed his eyes a bit.

"…Okay, maybe not _exactly…_but she knows I'm out."

"…Sure, I'll take that." Mr. Silver smiled a bit. "Yer missin' her, aren't ya?"

Sora bit his lip. "Well…yeah. Of course I am."

"So why not go home?"

Sora went back to his indignant face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. I just want to know yer story."

Under normal circumstances, Sora would have immediately recounted the long story of his short life. But as he opened his mouth, something stopped him. It was like a gripping sense of emptiness, eating away at him. Telling his story suddenly seemed pointless, even detrimental to both himself and the recipient. And so much work, too…

So instead, he shook his head. "You wouldn't really understand."

Then he turned around and walked out the door.

0=0=0=0=0=0

_*BZZT*_

_How could that stupid jerk just…was he right about my Keyblade being a sham? He can't have been, right?_

_Ugh. What time is it? I should…no. I don't want to know._

_Maybe my Keyblade really is a sham…_

_Why is he getting to me like this? I should tell Roxas and Axel…but they wouldn't understand, would they? No one understands. I can't be understood, because I'm broken. I know no one's perfect, but only a broken person would make as many mistakes as I do…_

_Will it even be worth getting out of bed tomorrow? I'll just botch up my mission and get Saix mad at me again anyway. If he has to yell at me, I want to at least invoke it the easy way._

_I guess I could have ice cream at the clocktower…_

_No. I don't deserve anything that makes me happy. Do I?_

_What's wrong with me?_

_*BZZT*_

0=0=0=0=0=0

"You okay, Sora?"

Sora jumped at the sound of the voice. He had walked back to the small bunk that had been set aside for him in the crew quarters. He didn't remember getting in, but he was in nonetheless. What had he been doing all this time? He felt like he had been dreaming, but he knew he hadn't been asleep.

He sighed and turned to Goofy. "I'll be all right."

Goofy's look of concern remained. "You've never acted this way before. Donald and I are real worried about ya."

Sora locked his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. "Really? Acted in what way?"

"You've been all mopey lately. And when you aren't mopey, you're mad at everyone. It's actually kinda scary coming from you…"

Sora closed his eyes. "…I'm sorry. It's…it's complicated."

Goofy sat down on the floor. "Do ya want to talk about it?"

"Well…can I ask an honest question?"

"Sure."

"You and Donald…would you be better off now if you never met me in Traverse Town?"

Goofy's eyes widened. "No, of course not, Sora! Without you, everything would have been eaten by darkness. And even worse, we would have never gotten to be your friend. You know that."

Sora took a deep breath. "…Sorry. Don't know where that came from."

Goofy scratched his chin. "You know what? I'm gonna keep an eye on you. You seem a little sick."

Sora sat up. "I'm not sick!"

"I don't mean a cold. I mean sick in the heart."

Sora sighed, holding his chest. "Actually…yeah, you're right. My heart is…really messed up right now. It's like a battle is going on in there…" Then he managed a tiny smile. "Thanks for being my friend, Goofy."

Goofy grinned and gave a thumbs up. "I'm right here for ya, Sora!"

0=0=0=0=0=0

_You're running out of time, Other._

Roxas stomped his foot in the wet sand of the beach. "Where are you?!"

_Nowhere you're going to find me._

Roxas looked around, even though he knew he was alone out here. He had been combing the island for hours now, and there had been no sign of Vanitas or Ventus. All he found were the occasional groups of Heartless and Unversed. He knew that the longer Ventus stayed in Vanitas' grasp, the harder it would be to fight whatever control he might be under. He had had personal experience, after all.

But the longer this went on without results, the more hopeless everything seemed…

_You know, I should thank you. You're the one who helped me do all this. Couldn't have done it without you, Other._

Roxas gritted his teeth. "My name is Roxas!"

_Someone's getting a little peeved. You never were good with your temper, Other._

"And you've never been good with listening!"

_Neither were you. You didn't really listen to that one girl, did you? Not until it was too late._

Roxas summoned his Keyblade and slashed at the air. _"I hate you!"_

_Good. I'm doing my job right._

"You don't deserve to _live!"_

Vanitas laughed. _Yeah, probably not. I tortured a poor, lonely girl, manipulated you through your love for her, used Sora as my toy and generally played everyone like a flute until I got what I wanted. I've been a massive jerk. But you know what? I don't care! Once darkness consumes Sora, I'll be able to take over his body entirely, and then the real party will start! That's what I wanted all along, and I got it by being selfish, sadistic and generally a worthless waste of oxygen. See? The darkness is more practical._

Roxas threw his Keyblade into the ground so hard that it stuck. At this point, he was too angry to even form words. Vanitas enraged him like nothing had before, including Saix and Xemnas. At least they were more passive-aggressive than anything else, and thus easier to ignore. This guy, on the other hand, seemed to know exactly what to say to set Roxas off, and made a straight beeline for those exact words.

Five Unversed appeared, surrounding Roxas. He summoned Oathkeeper back and sliced through them like air. "You'll have to try better than that," he managed through gritted teeth.

_I didn't send them. Your anger attracted them. They won't stop coming until you stop being angry. And you aren't exactly a monk, so good luck with that._

For Roxas, 'not angry' didn't feel like a thing that existed at the moment. Another set of Unversed appeared, doubled in number, and Roxas made a wide sweep all the way around. The enemies were destroyed, but then another wave came, this time a group of twenty. He raised his Keyblade in the air and rained down thunderbolts, blasting the bulk of the force to bits. Then he proceeded to cut through the survivors as usual.

But then the pattern continued, forty Unversed appearing all at once. Vanitas sounded amused. _Do you know what this is? This is exponential growth. I'm basically performing a math lesson for you. You should be grateful._

Roxas might have told him to shut up, if he wasn't so focused on the Unversed already. There was nothing but the enemies in front of him now. Pure rage fueled an endless rampage through the creatures. Everything they represented was the embodiment of what Roxas hated about his situation and his life in general. Not only that, but he was fighting for all his friends—Namine and Ventus and even Axel and Sora and….a girl…

Oh, no.

As anger gave way to panic, Roxas almost didn't register that he had been pushed flat on his back. Instead of immediately attacking, the Unversed were now circling like vultures, as if waiting for him to die. He rolled onto his belly, and pushed himself up slightly, refusing to let himself be totally helpless. He tried to reach for the seashell in his pocket, but ended up falling again.

Vanitas' mocking voice entered his head again. _Ah…doesn't it always suck when you forget something important? You usually end up letting someone down. Even worse, it's usually someone important to you, like you're girlfriend. You're letting her down, Other._

Roxas' arms gave out, and he fell into the sand. His whole body ached. "I…I won't…"

_You're just as worthless as I am. At least I admit it. I even use it to my advantage._

Roxas slammed his fist into the sand. "I'm not worthless…"

_Really, now? Can you prove that?_

Roxas realized that he couldn't. His whole life suddenly felt like a never-ending pattern of defeat and hopelessness.

_You don't matter. No one cares about you. No one._

Fury entered Roxas' mind again. "Sh…she does…"

_Does she really? Because it isn't like you cared much about her, in the end._

Roxas pushed himself up into a sitting position. "You're wrong. I do care about her…more than anything else in the world."

_If you cared about her, you'd keep fighting to fulfill her wishes. Wouldn't you?_

Roxas was about to lunge at the Unversed again, but then he realized something. "As long as I keep fighting, they'll keep coming. But if I stop fighting, then…"

_Then they will kill you and feast on your flesh. I see what you're going for, but they're negative emotions, and the thing about negative emotions is that they eat you eventually._

"…Only if you give them a way in."

_Which you do. Face it, you idiot, you're done for._

"Not if I have anything to say about it."

Without waiting for more of Vanitas' taunts, Roxas closed his eyes and brought forward the happiest memory he could muster. Somehow, it was easier than usual to remember. In fact, he didn't feel anything missing at all, even the names.

0=0=0=0=0=0

_*BZZT*_

"_Ta-dah!"_

_As Xion shows off her reacquired Keyblade, she breaks out a huge grin. I love that grin. "I'd like to dedicate this Keyblade summoning to my good friends Roxas and Axel."_

_Axel looks away and rubs his neck, though I can still see him smiling. "Ah, me? I didn't do anything."_

_Xion sends her Keyblade off and sits down next to him. "If it weren't for you, Roxas and I would have had to split up."_

_I sit down, too. "Yeah, and then she might have never gotten her Keyblade back."_

_Axel snorts. "Well, tell you what. You get the ice cream, and we'll call it even. Deal?"_

_Xion gets up. "Already on it!"_

_As she runs off, I can't help watching her go. And as she comes back and we eat our ice cream, I can't help staring at her. There's something about her that just holds my gaze. She's like this glowing beacon of light or something. Is this what 'pretty' means?_

_I turn to the sunset, smiling. "I hope we can keep doing this forever."_

_Axel sighs. "Nothing lasts forever. Especially not for us Nobodies."_

_The smile drops off my face. "Oh…"_

_Axel pats me on the back. "But don't worry, okay? As long as we remember each other, we'll never be apart."_

_I can't help laughing at this. "Wow, Axel. You might as well have brought a cheese wheel."_

_Axel laughs along with me, and so does Xion. Of course, I know it's cheesy because it's true. I'll make sure to remember Axel and Xion forever and ever._

_*BZZT*_

0=0=0=0=0=0

When Roxas opened his eyes, he noticed that all the Unversed were gone. He also noticed that, for the first time since this whole mess started, he had a smile on his face. A real smile, the kind of smile that holds under pressure. He was truly happy.

In contrast, Vanitas sounded annoyed. _Okay, good trick, good trick. It probably won't last, you know._

Roxas shrugged. "Nothing does. But I'll remember it, and that's what counts."

_You're too slow and stupid for me to even tolerate anymore. I'm breaking out the heavy artillery. Say hello to your old friend, the Messenger of Hatred!_

The ground shook, and Roxas stepped back as a giant shadow began to form on the ground. A canine head pushed out of the dark hole, and soon the rest of the body followed. Roxas recognized it immediately—it was the wolf Vanitas had created from all that hatred in Roxas' heart.

The wolf howled just as it had when it first appeared. But this time, Roxas wasn't frightened by it at all. He didn't need to be scared of this thing—he had faced bigger Heartless during his time in the Organization. This 'Messenger of Hatred', just like every other giant Heartless, was quite literally all bark and no bite.

Roxas smiled. "I'm not afraid of you anymore."

He felt something coming to his left hand, and he turned to watch Oblivion enter his hand once again. It was almost like it was pleased to return to its true master and 'twin'. He brought the two Keyblades together, and he started to rise into the air, bathed in a bright light. After a few seconds, the light cleared. He was wearing his Twilight Town outfit again, which was actually much more comfortable than he remembered. The two Keyblades had also joined somehow, into a grey and white Keyblade with an Organization symbol as the keychain.

He vaguely remembered this one. Never before had the name seemed so apt. Two Become One.

Roxas charged the Messenger, striking at its head. The attack clearly hurt the Heartless, but it responded with a strong bite. The wounds hurt, and Roxas fell to the ground. Just as the Messenger was about to bite again, Roxas jumped away, throwing his Keyblade. The Messenger was stunned for a few seconds, and Roxas was able to heal and run a short combo on the front legs.

But then the Messenger shook it off, and started stomping its feet. Roxas reacted just in time and cast Reflect repeatedly as the beast tried to smash him with its paws. This did a fair amount of damage, but the attacks kept coming, and eventually, he ran out of energy for the magic, and was knocked away. The Messenger tried another bite, and Roxas was only barely able to get out of the way before it struck down.

Roxas stepped back, panting. "Thought you could finally dig in, huh? Nice try."

This prompted another one of the wolf's howls, this time straight up into the sky. Dark balls of energy started raining down, and Roxas was forced to run around, avoiding the projectiles. In the meantime, the wolf kept pressing the attack, trying to take bites out of Roxas over and over.

Roxas managed another Strike Raid, stunning the creature again, and got in a short combo before it recovered and made another attack. This thing was fast, and Roxas knew that if he didn't end this quickly, he'd be lunch pretty soon.

He narrowed his eyes. "Time for you to see what the light can do."

His Keyblade began to glow blue, and he lunged at the Messenger's head, slashing at it with insane speed. The multiple strikes stunned the Heartless, leaving it open to even more. But Roxas wasn't done yet. He drew in light and blasted out massive pillars, bringing even more pain to the Messenger. He repeated this five times, and each time it was even more intense, the final burst being like a supernova.

Roxas came back down, slamming his Keyblade in the ground. For a moment, the Messenger stood in front of him, appearing unfazed. Then, it exploded, creating massive winds throughout the island. When the smoke cleared, all that was left was a tiny, black-and-red scorpion.

Vanitas' taunting words came through Roxas' head again. _Nice work. But as you can see, your hatred is still there. You'll never be happy. It will always be there._

Roxas snorted, put his hands in his pockets and walked up to the scorpion. "Hatred doesn't seem to have impeded your own happiness, now does it?"

_Touché. _A door appeared directly behind the scorpion. There was light pouring out, but it was tinged by black darkness. _The center of Sora's heart won't be this easy on you, you know. Especially not me._

"I'm up for a challenge. Especially if it means that I get to punch your lights out."

With that, he quietly smashed the insect and walked through the door.

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**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for chapter 28…whenever it comes. :P**


	28. Important Announcement!

**Hello, KH fans! Today, I have a special announcement! This story, Unforgettable, is now being rewritten! It's very messy at the moment, and so it's very hard for me to continue, but I intend to restart it fresh and new! The original story will be kept here for posterity. Thanks to everyone who has supported me the whole time I was writing this. It was a truly awesome time for me, and really got me into writing for the first time since I was a child. You're all awesome!**

**So that FFN doesn't yell at me for only having an author note, here's something special for you all: the original first draft of Chapter One. This was before it was even called Unforgettable, so it's waaaaay back and a tad embarrassing. It's not even written in novel format like the rest of the story. But no matter! It's here now for you to enjoy. Consider it a thanks for support. :)**

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_(*)New Game_

_( )Load Game_

…

_Difficulty_

_( ) Beginner—( ) Standard—( ) Proud—(*) Sora_

_The difficulty the Keyblade Master plays. Good luck._

…

_Tutorial Experience_

_( ) Show me everything—(*) Only tell me what's new—( ) Make the tutorial a regular level, I've played before_

…

_To you, the player. –Square Enix_

_To the Sora in all of us. –Disney_

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_\/\/\/_

_Sora is underwater and falling down._

_The camera slowly zooms out to take in Riku._

_\/\/\/_

_The camera zooms out more, revealing Kairi._

_The camera continues to zoom, getting faster._

_Roxas is falling as well, in an Organization XIII coat. The coat flies off, revealing his normal clothes._

_Lea is falling now, first in an Organization coat, then in normal clothes._

_Xion comes on screen, falling with the others. She is wearing an Organization coat, but as it flies off, the camera becomes too fast for us to make out her new outfit._

_The camera is very fast now. Aqua, Terra and Ventus are all taken in at once._

_\/\/\/_

_The camera stops zooming. Namine falls into view, falling through the center. She is falling faster than the others, and the camera follows her._

_Sora is comes back into view. He is back-to-back with Namine._

_The camera zooms in on them._

_Sora and Namine both open their eyes at once._

_\/\/\/_

_The screen goes static. A second later, Destiny Islands at night is seen. A storm is rolling in. Sora is running across the beach. The opening credits begin._

_More static. Riku is reaching out to Sora as he is consumed by darkness._

_Static. Traverse Town. Sora, Donald and Goofy join hands, showing that they're a team._

_Static. The End of the World. Sora blocks Riku's Keyblade with his own._

_Static. Kairi is holding Sora's body._

_Static. Kairi's heart leaves her body and joins with Sora._

_\/\/\/_

_Static. Twilight Town. Axel and Roxas are sitting on the clocktower, eating sea-salt ice cream._

_Static. Castle Oblivion. Sora enters a large chamber._

_Static. Sora dodges Marluxia's scythe._

_Static. Same scene as the first time, but now Xion is sitting next to them._

_Static. Beast's Castle. Roxas and Xion are holding the same Keyblade, jumping up and down in joy._

_Static. Twilight Town. Axel summons his chakrams._

_Static. Roxas is holding Xion's body as it starts to fade away._

_Static. World That Never Was. Roxas is attacking Riku with dual Keyblades._

_\/\/\/_

_Static. Twilight Town. A pod opens, revealing Sora. Roxas is standing in front of it, Keyblade out._

_Static. Sora, Donald and Goofy are charging at an army of Heartless._

_Static. World That Never Was. Sora and Riku are fighting Xemnas._

_Static. Disney Castle. Sora is running on a screen._

_Static. Dreamworld. A storybook opens, revealing a whole world._

_Static. Sora and Riku are floating in midair, back to back, spinning their Keyblades wildly._

_Static. Sora and Xion stare at each other._

_Static._

_\/\/\/_

_Destiny Islands. The trio of trios are sitting by the usual tree, watching three shooting stars fly across the sky._

_Fade to black._

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_**Kingdom Hearts III**_

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**Thanks for reading, and be on the lookout for the new Unforgettable!**


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